Haha 0 - 3 Grilled
64940 fans braved the pouring rain at
Hehe Arena.
Claude-Oliver Pyrkosch was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Makar Tyagaev and
Sascha Greutmann. For strong, physical players the heavy rain was easy to overcome, it was even an advantage given their style of play. Others, such as the quick or technical ones, made bleaker appearances. Haha's lineup was:
Andino -
Khairil Syahmi,
Yun Shi,
Tian Jin,
Viroux -
Salminen,
Clijsen,
Grott,
Trang -
de Rougemont,
Rampazzi.
The following players took the field for Grilled:
Dob -
Webb,
Jeftić -
Muthyala,
Xin Lee,
Kamel,
ter Berg,
Mohammad Harun -
Egan,
Ze Han,
Xin Seng.
It was to be a contest between two different football philosophies, since the home team started the game with a 4-4-2 formation while the visitors instead opted for 2-5-3. Grilled mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle, taking advantage of their divine (+7) level with that tactic.
Carlos Andino looked great 19 minutes into the match after stopping a shot from the middle of the penalty area from the visitors'
Bilal Mohammad Harun. Down the middle came
Mateja Jeftić, making a fantastic play that nearly had Grilled take the lead after 33 minutes, but
Carlos Andino preserved the tie. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 0. Grilled claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 55 percent.
Grilled had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially 48 minutes in when
Gilbert Webb came up alone against
Carlos Andino who managed a block. Grilled's
Bilal Mohammad Harun had a good first touch on the flank, but was crowded and, after a change of plan, sent the ball to
Kalle ter Berg who somehow managed to curl the ball wide. 69 minutes had elapsed when a great chance for Haha to take the lead after a good cross from the right found
Basilio Rampazzi alone with the keeper, but he chipped it to the wrong side of the post. Grilled's
Chan Ze Han showed his experience, anticipating the outcome of the opponent's defensive clearance and positioning himself perfectly to volley in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box. 0 - 1. The home crowd cheered when, after 77 minutes,
Chan Ze Han's charge up the middle resulted in the keeper making one of his best saves of the day. The corner kick from
Mateja Jeftić was powerfully met by the head of
Bilal Mohammad Harun to make the score 0 - 2. After 86 minutes, Grilled's
Neeraj Muthyala burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 3. The referee decided to let play continue for an additional 1 minute beyond the regular 90 minutes. The match ends 0 - 3. Grilled had most of the ball, with 56 percent of possession.
Basilio Rampazzi performed admirably for Haha. However,
Roger Viroux made a disastrous appearance. Grilled's best player was
Chan Ze Han.
Neeraj Muthyala was a disappointment, however.