Grilled 4 - 4 Karbo
Due to an all-day shower, the spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog. The pitch was a disaster, due to all the rain. This spelled problems for the more sophisticated players, who usually could rely on speed or technique. For those relying on grit and strength, it actually meant an edge. Lineup:
Dob -
Webb,
Panigrahi -
Künzler,
Xin Lee,
Mohammad Harun,
Muthyala,
Dong Chu -
Egan,
Parvathaneni,
Xin Seng.
The following players had been selected:
Xavier -
Lütte,
Buseck -
Putzolu,
Badocha,
Simo,
Tofte,
Alexiev -
Knitter,
Ciurdaş,
Meier.
The coaches were in sync today, as both teams lined up in a 2-5-3 formation. Grilled used their divine (+4) ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the field. Karbo took a creative approach on the field. Karbo's
Gerd Buseck managed to lose the defenders as he burst through the right side and scored, putting the visitors ahead, 0 - 1. 17 minutes into the match, the Speedy Gonzalez-like
Cyril Künzler easily outran
Gerd Buseck to knock in the 1 - 1 goal.
Filiberto Putzolu managed to make an excellent pass from the wing, but
Jack Tofte was not as skillful and couldn't finish it off. After 27 minutes,
Bernie Egan sprinted between the opposing defenders and laid the ball off to
Moey Xin Seng, whose shot was saved by the keeper. Grilled had a good opportunity to attack on the wing, but remembered their instructions to go for middle instead. After 28 minutes cheers broke out as
Neeraj Muthyala found his way through the guests' central defensive line, rattling the 2 - 1 goal in off the woodwork for Grilled. A magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Grilled's
Chu Xin Lee bringing the lead up to 3 - 1. Karbo managed to reduce their deficit as
Gökhan Knitter finished off a well-played combination from the left, easily carving through the home team's defense after 41 minutes. A run up the right wing paid off for Karbo as
Adrian Meier hit a wicked shot past the keeper to tie the game. 3 - 3 after 42 minutes. 3 - 3 was the score after the first half. Grilled set the tempo, maintaining 54 percent of possession.
After 46 minutes, the Grilled coach wanted to see a new face on the field, waving
Chu Xin Lee off.
Chan Ze Han took his place. After 49 minutes, Karbo sent a free kick in high over the penalty box. In what looked like a well-rehearsed move, the ball was headed backwards and reached
Jack Tofte, who had plenty of time to shoot and score - 3 - 4. Due to some great work on the right wing Grilled's
Kalki Parvathaneni was able to even the score 59 minutes in to 4 - 4. The referee showed Karbo's
Atanas Alexiev the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. 74 minutes into the game,
Filiberto Putzolu almost gave the visitors the lead, as he chipped a delicate lob over the keeper, but the ball glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. With the clock showing 80 minutes, the fourth official held up the substitution board.
Moey Xin Seng looked to see that it was his number in red, so he made his way over to the sideline and swapped out for
Vikram Mudaliar, though he would have liked to continue. As Grilled's captain went off, he handed the armband to
Chan Ze Han. It was announced by the fourth official that he estimated stoppage time to be around 2 minutes. This meant there could still be an extra attack or two left in the match! After 89 minutes, Grilled's lack of experience resulted in the team's loss of their edge at the end of the game. After a fine move down the middle
Vikram Mudaliar nearly put the home side one up with 89 minutes played. His final touch escaped him though and the keeper smothered the ball. The match ends 4 - 4. Nikki Minaj appeared on the Jumbotron wearing pink lipstick, a towering pile of platinum-white hair, and a pair of soccer balls. Grilled's top performer was clearly
Kalki Parvathaneni. Even six year old fans were wincing at the poor play by
Gilbert Webb today. Most important Karbo player was
Kuba Badocha. Speaking of stinking up the place,
Juho Simo sure smelled like the bottom of Batman's shoe after a night of crimefighting in Gotham.