Deportiva 4 - 4 Grilled
Clear skies welcomed the 3663 spectators who had made their way to
Olímpico de Chiriquí.
Metod Ružnič was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Rex Ujeh and
Rodolfo Antunes. Deportiva's lineup was:
Meleán -
Pérez,
Ipiña -
Scattone,
Assunção,
増田 (Masuda),
Landaeta,
La Baka -
Machuca,
Cruz,
Rosales.
Grilled fielded:
Vadalà -
Mangoye,
Webb -
Teck Fu,
Kwang Tse,
Chitre,
Khairul,
Trindade -
Ferzan,
Chuan Yong,
Mohammad Harun.
As the teams spread out over the pitch, it became clear that they would both be using a 2-5-3 formation today. Grilled demonstrated their world class (13) creative tactics on the field.
Jhonathan La Baka gave Deportiva the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 1 - 0 The swift technical skills of
Ugo Scattone were often too much for the tall but somewhat slow
Chia Kwang Tse who was humiliated after 21 minutes. He'll be breathing a huge sigh of relief after the final shot went wide. The referee showed Deportiva's
拓海 (Takumi) 増田 (Masuda) the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Grilled levelled the score after 33 minutes to make it 1 - 1, as
Chia Kwang Tse struck home after a fine midfield combination through the centre, which left him completely unmarked. 34 minutes in, Deportiva appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only solid (7). Grilled's
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan gave the visitors a 1 - 2 lead after 36 minutes with a superb strike from the right. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 2. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Grilled, with 57 percent of the ball.
The coach gave his players an extra tactical briefing during the break, and after that Deportiva had solid (7) organisation.
Saúl Cruz would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise.
Joost Tillian entered the game for Deportiva as the match clock showed 46 minutes. After 46 minutes, the Grilled coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving
Gandhik Chitre off the field.
Aw Keng Chuan took his place.
Mohd Marzuki Khairul came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over
Alberto Meleán but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. After 54 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as Deportiva found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to passable (6). 55 minutes in, and Deportiva were able to score the equalising goal to make it 2 - 2 when
Fidel 'el Bombardero' Machuca picked up a pass coming in from the right and chipped it past the away team's keeper. After 62 minutes, Grilled's
Aw Keng Chuan made his way through the middle and nonchalantly placed the ball out of the keeper's reach, putting the visitors up 2 - 3. After 70 minutes of play,
Joselito Rosales evened things up for Deportiva with an impressive goal coming up the middle. 3 - 3. 70 minutes into the game, Grilled wanted to bring some new energy to their game.
Gilbert Webb gave
Mohsen El Khateeb a quick hug as he left the field. As the 70 minute mark approached, the Grilled coach decided it was time for a substitution.
Bilal Mohammad Harun reluctantly made way for
José Luiz Velho on the pitch. Deportiva took the lead 77 minutes into the game by 4 - 3, as
Jhonathan La Baka elegantly received a long range pass through the middle, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. The visitors refused to give in and, after 78 minutes,
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan evened things up as he finished off a perfect pass from the right. 4 - 4 As the match nears its end, the referee has deemed it appropriate to add 3 minutes as stoppage time. The match ends 4 - 4. Grilled enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 57 percent of possession.
The most dominating Deportiva player was without a doubt
Joost Tillian.
Alberto Meleán on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Grilled player was
Aw Keng Chuan. However,
Manuel Vadalà made a disastrous appearance.