Arcturules 0 - 4 Grilled
26751 spectators had come to
Singa Arena this cloudy day.
Javier Font was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Pierre-Antoine Hoël and
Tino Dornauer. The match took place on neutral ground. Lineup:
De Yong -
Hasnain,
Chee Chi,
云敬 (Yunjing),
Łodyga -
Monteiro Rosa,
Paoloni,
Ismail,
D'Errico -
Höldrich,
Iftimie.
The following players took the field:
Dob -
Webb,
Panigrahi -
Künzler,
Muthyala,
Mohammad Harun,
Xin Seng,
Davlatov -
Xin Lee,
Mudaliar,
Parvathaneni.
Arcturules entered the field in a 4-4-2 formation. The visitors, Grilled Birds, chose to start the game with a 2-5-3 lineup. Arcturules immediately set off using their excellent skill at pressing their opponents. Grilled mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle, taking advantage of their divine (+4) level with that tactic. It was obvious that team Grilled had instructions to attack in the middle instead of on the wings. A mistake by the home side's central defence after 9 minutes allowed
Kalki Parvathaneni to score for Grilled. The scoreboard now read 0 - 1. After 10 minutes a well-practised indirect free kick routine by Grilled was easily anticipated by the defenders. The players forward were so well marked, they were left with few viable options.
Cyril Künzler could have added one to the visitors' lead if his free kick had gone just a little lower. After 33 minutes, Grilled's
Gilbert Webb burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 2. Some fine movement on the left led to a Grilled goal after 35 minutes, making it 0 - 3.
Vikram Mudaliar was noted down as the scorer. Halftime score was 0 - 3. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Grilled, with 62 percent of the ball.
Islom Davlatov would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise.
Heng Dong Chu entered the game for Grilled as the match clock showed 75 minutes. 75 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Grilled substitution.
Chan Ze Han came on for
Kalki Parvathaneni. The home side worked their way through the middle and almost got one back when
Paul Höldrich tried to sneak the ball past the keeper.
Massoud Dob was too alert for that! The pressing tactics used by Arcturules were successful as the ball remained close to the half way line at all times. A drive down the left side allowed
Chan Ze Han to get in close and score another goal for Grilled after 82 minutes, taking the score to 0 - 4. After 85 minutes, the Grilled coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving
Chu Xin Lee off the field.
Bernie Egan took his place. The referee decided to let play continue for an additional 1 minute beyond the regular 90 minutes. Arcturules's ability to press all over the field frequently paid dividends.
Heng Dong Chu was in no condition to play on. He left the field limping after 89 minutes, with his left thigh bandaged. Due to this disastrous turn of events, the team now had to finish the match with a reduced lineup. The match ends 0 - 4. Possession in this half belonged to Grilled, who controlled the ball 61 percent of the time.
Alex Iftimie performed admirably for Arcturules.
Cezary Łodyga was a disappointment, however. Grilled's best player was
Bernie Egan. However,
Gilbert Webb made a disastrous appearance.