Minions 4 - 3 Grilled
3521 punters turned up at
Minions Arena, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came.
Benedykt Wielki was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Rubén Portillo and
Kleofas Szmyd. Minions fielded:
Campante -
Gomes Domingos,
Azevedo,
Catalino,
Monteiro,
Ribeiro Esteves -
São-Miguel,
Gama,
Antunes,
Andrade -
Nunes Conceição.
The following players had been chosen by Grilled:
Vadalà -
Abdul Majid,
Tarin -
Jaška,
Webb,
Xin Seng,
Panigrahi,
Mottl -
Nguyen,
Velho,
Jian Hui.
The teams had chosen different formations for the match. Home team Minions United FC went for 5-4-1 while Grilled Birds has decided to play a 2-5-3 lineup. After 17 minutes, Minions raised their score by one when
Januário Andrade's dangerous low cross was cleverly tucked in at the near post by
António Gama. 1 - 0. Grilled levelled the score after 23 minutes to make it 1 - 1, as
Mohd Jafni Abdul Majid struck home after a fine midfield combination through the centre, which left him completely unmarked. 36 minutes into the game,
Cristiano Nunes Conceição finished off a Minions left wing counterattack, making the score 2 - 1. 2 - 1 was the halftime score. Grilled had most of the ball, with 58 percent of possession.
46 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Grilled substitution.
Hoàng Trung Quá came on for
Jérémy Tarin. 46 minutes into the game, Grilled wanted to bring some new energy to their game.
Mohd Jafni Abdul Majid gave
洸平 (Kohei) 奥谷 (Okuya) a quick hug as he left the field. Minions's
António Gama saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates after 67 minutes. Grilled had a chance to level the scores as
Bhavya Panigrahi suddenly found himself free in the middle of the box with only the keeper to beat, but he misjudged the finish, and only managed to hit the bar. The referee showed Grilled's
Radovan Jaška the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Having taken a hard knock between his legs,
Manuel Jerónimo Gomes Domingos limped off the pitch in a reduced state of dignity. He could not continue, with 73 minutes on the clock, could this prove costly for his team?
Damas Soares had already been warming up, and came on for
Manuel Jerónimo Gomes Domingos. The visitors didn't give in and, after 74 minutes,
Moey Xin Seng got through the home side's central line of defence, rolling in the equaliser to make it 2 - 2. A slight injury to his left calf muscle meant
Moey Xin Seng had to leave the match early. It happened after 75 minutes. This gave
Dante Tran a chance to take to the field instead.
Hoàng Trung Quá became the new Grilled captain. Minions's counterattacks were lethal to the opposing defence, allowing
António Gama to score easily from the right flank for 3 - 2. Minions solidified their lead at the 86 minute mark, as
António Gama dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 4 - 2. That was his third goal of the match - a hat trick for
António Gama. As the match nears its end, the referee has deemed it appropriate to add 3 minutes as stoppage time. After 90 minutes,
Bhavya Panigrahi chose the right corner while taking his penalty, humiliating the home keeper, who dived in the wrong direction. The goal reduced the home lead to 4 - 3. The match ends 4 - 3. Possession in this half belonged to Grilled, who controlled the ball 59 percent of the time.
Minions's top performer was clearly
Virgolino Ribeiro Esteves. However,
Jairo Campante made a disastrous appearance. The most dominating Grilled player was without a doubt
Bhavya Panigrahi. On the other hand,
Hoàng Trung Quá's play was disheartening.