Grilled 3 - 2 Sace
The weather was pretty good at the stadium today for the match. Lineup:
Salmiņš -
Lunde,
Jeftić -
Kamel,
Chuan Yong,
ter Berg,
Mohammad Harun,
Dong Chu -
Parvathaneni,
Ze Han,
Xin Seng.
They fielded:
Canaval -
Alexander,
Grasmugg,
Hüser -
Pukallus,
Hochbrück,
Wesendonk,
Dafler,
Hungerbühler -
Leihe,
Niebler.
Grilled Birds started the game in a 2-5-3 formation, whereas TSV Sace lined up in a 3-5-2.
Gareth Alexander stuck like glue to
Chan Ze Han, diminishing the Grilled player's contribution in the match! Sace's
Magnus Leihe could have put the guests one up 14 minutes in after chasing a through ball from the right, but
Jānis Salmiņš was as quick as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose. Grilled took the lead 20 minutes in, as
Moey Xin Seng broke through on the left and put his shot just beyond the reach of the outstretched keeper, bringing the score to 1 - 0.
Sølve Lunde could have put Grilled up one more, but he fired into the side netting after breaking free on the left after 27 minutes. Grilled put themselves up 2 - 0 when
Mateja Jeftić broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive delegation behind him. With 33 minutes gone, Sace replied and reduced the lead to 2 - 1.
Magnus Leihe scored after a marvelous cross from the left. It was 2 - 1 at the break. The battle in midfield was tight, with possession split evenly between the teams.
Grilled's
Heng Dong Chu saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates 52 minutes in. The visitors almost came back with an equalizer 67 minutes into the match after a good combination down the middle, but
Edward Hungerbühler didn't get enough power behind the attempted finish to seriously challenge the keeper. 75 minutes into the match, the referee signaled for a Grilled substitution.
Bhavya Panigrahi came on for
Mateja Jeftić. As
Mateja Jeftić left the field, the coach signaled to
Bhavya Panigrahi to start taking the set pieces that occurred. 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. The Grilled captaincy was handed to
Chan Ze Han. Given a free kick from an impossible angle, Grilled went for a play that loyal fans may recognize from training. A square ball surprised the defense and let
Kalki Parvathaneni slip through at goal. He hit it first time, making the score 3 - 1, 83 minutes into the game. The home team's fans were upset when, after 86 minutes, the visiting
Dietrich Dafler broke through the central defense and got the ball past the keeper. 3 - 2 was the score. Sace got a chance to level the scores in minute 87 as
Magnus Leihe suddenly found himself free with only the keeper to beat, but the finish hit the bar. Coming in from the right, Grilled had a good opportunity to convert on a counter-attack after 88 minutes, but
Chan Ze Han's attempt was easily stopped. As the 89 minute mark approached, the Grilled manager decided it was time for a substitution.
Sølve Lunde reluctantly made way for
Gilbert Webb. It was announced by the fourth official that he estimated stoppage time to be around 1 minutes. This meant there could still be an extra attack or two left in the match! The match ends 3 - 2. Neither team was controlling possession at this point in the match.
Kalki Parvathaneni performed admirably for Grilled. Good thing
Gilbert Webb isn't a horse, because he'd surely be sent to the glue factory after that performance. Most important Sace player was
Magnus Leihe. You can tell it was nickel beer night yesterday at the local bar because
Gareth Alexander seemed to stumble all over the pitch.