Mayuyu 2 - 4 Grilled
38591 spectators arrived at
渡辺麻友Dome, where weather conditions were pretty good for football.
Shohjahon Safarov was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Tomas Nilsson and
Roy Albán. Mayuyu fielded:
Boestlinger -
Zalka,
Bique,
Kefalín,
Cachoeira -
Ravarotto,
Wauquier,
Olivieri,
Prusina -
Ahola,
Inczédi.
Grilled's starters:
Germanakos -
Panigrahi,
Webb -
Baena,
Thach,
Keng Chuan,
An Keng,
Mohammad Harun -
Ze Han,
Chitre,
Parvathaneni.
Mayuyu AKB48 fielded a 4-4-2 lineup. For Grilled Birds, the formation of choice was 2-5-3. Today, Mayuyu's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks, taking advantage of their divine (+4) (24) level with that tactic. Grilled mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle, taking advantage of their titanic (15) level with that tactic.
Philip Boestlinger looked great 4 minutes into the match after stopping a shot from the middle of the penalty area from the visitors'
Bilal Mohammad Harun. Grilled had a good opportunity to attack on the wing, but remembered their instructions to go for middle attacks. 9 minutes into the game,
Aw Keng Chuan almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a delicate lob over the keeper, but the ball glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. 11 minutes into the match and the home team took a 1 - 0 lead after breaking through on the left. The scorer for Mayuyu was
Gerardo Ravarotto. After 24 minutes, the visitors levelled the scores after
Chan Ze Han made it through the middle and struck home to make it 1 - 1.
Lucas Wauquier finished off the counterattack of Mayuyu from the left rather easily, making the score 2 - 1. The teams went for the halftime break at 2 - 1. Grilled claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 66 percent.
As the 46 minute mark approached, the Grilled coach decided it was time for a substitution.
Lim An Keng reluctantly made way for
Chia Kwang Tse on the pitch. After 46 minutes, the Grilled coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving
Kalki Parvathaneni off the field.
Moey Xin Seng took his place.
Enrique Baena would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise.
Paulino Trindade entered the game for Grilled as the match clock showed 46 minutes. After 54 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by
Gerardo Ravarotto might have resulted in another goal for Mayuyu. However,
Dimitris Germanakos made a spectacular save. Grilled were determined to attack in the middle, even their wing attacks ended up centrally. The visitors didn't give in and, after 56 minutes,
Moey Xin Seng got through the home side's central line of defence, rolling in the equaliser to make it 2 - 2. 57 minutes into the match, a typically brave header by
Moey Xin Seng from
Paulino Trindade's cross looped just over the opposing goalkeeper's desperate reach. Goal for Grilled, making the score 2 - 3. Mayuyu were close to equalising with a spectacular free kick by
Luis Bique after 70 minutes, but
Dimitris Germanakos made a great save, tipping it to a corner.
Chia Kwang Tse of Grilled received a yellow card after 77 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Mayuyu's
Joonas Ahola almost tied things up with 80 minutes played after breaking through on the right, but his shot deflected off the post. Grilled had a great opportunity to score following a counterattack after 81 minutes, but
Chan Ze Han's shot from the left sailed high over the bar. With 85 minutes played, Grilled put themselves up 2 - 4 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. The scorer was
Chia Kwang Tse. It was announced by the referee 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! The match ends 2 - 4. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Grilled, with 65 percent of the ball.
Most important Mayuyu player was
Gerardo Ravarotto. On the other hand,
Dávid Zalka's play was disheartening. Grilled's top performer was clearly
Chan Ze Han.
Gilbert Webb turned in a dismal performance, however.