Karak 4 - 4 Grilled
Weather conditions were fairly good for football at the stadium today. The following players had been selected:
Pasha -
Yago,
Jaghbeer -
Williams,
Jang,
bin Hj Adib,
Khalifa,
Goradia -
Yan Tun,
Telin,
Paranavithana.
Lineup:
Germanakos -
Panigrahi,
Keng Chuan -
Ferzan,
Kwang Tse,
Khairul,
An Keng,
Parada -
Tokarz,
Ze Han,
Reece.
As the teams spread out over the pitch, it became clear that they would both be using a 2-5-3 formation today. Grilled seemed to prefer attacking in the middle, using their extra-terrestrial (16) ability to great effect. After 8 minutes,
Duminda Paranavithana sprinted between the opposing defenders and laid the ball off to
Jeremy Williams, whose shot was saved by the keeper. Karak took the lead 21 minutes in, as
Suchir Goradia broke through on the left and put his shot just beyond the reach of the outstretched keeper, bringing the score to 1 - 0. It was showtime for artist
Chan Ze Han who demonstrated his technical mastery when he dribbled past
Urbi Yago and finished with a goal for Grilled to bring the scoreline to 1 - 1. Down the middle came
Bhavya Panigrahi, making a fantastic play that nearly saw Grilled take the lead after 33 minutes, but
Ziaul Pasha preserved the tie. The guests almost went up by a goal with 34 minutes elapsed when
Chan Ze Han came through from the right. The shot bounced harmlessly off the post, though. Karak's
Saleh Abolhassan Jaghbeer was shown a yellow card after 41 minutes for slicing down an opponent.
Some good play on the left wing created an opportunity for the visitors 42 minutes into the match, and
Orest Tokarz wasn't about to waste it. He got past the defenders and fired a shot that the keeper just missed. 1 - 2 for the visitors. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Grilled's
Chia Kwang Tse got himself booked.
Duminda Paranavithana pulled a rabbit out of his hat as he wove through the guest's entire central defense and put the 2 - 2 equalizer away after 44 minutes. 2 - 2 was the halftime score. Well, look at this! Cardi B is on the Enormotron in naught but giant sunglasses and a Take Me To Your Lizard tank top. I've not seen anything like it before.
Suchir Goradia's name was chanted throughout the stadium after his goal in minute 50 following a run up the middle gave Karak the 3 - 2 lead. Grilled players heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their wing attacks to the middle instead. Grilled leveled the score after 58 minutes to make it 3 - 3, as
Egemen Din�er Ferzan struck home after a fine midfield combination through the middle left him completely unmarked. 60 minutes into the match, the referee signaled for a Grilled substitution.
Gilbert Webb came on for
Bhavya Panigrahi. With
Bhavya Panigrahi no longer on the field,
Gilbert Webb stepped up to be the new set pieces taker. With the clock showing 60 minutes, the fourth official held up the substitution board.
Orest Tokarz looked to see that it was his number in red, so he made his way over to the sideline and swapped out for
Ibnou Balde, though he would have liked to continue. 3 - 4 was the score after 78 minutes, when Grilled's
Lim An Keng cut through the central defense and pounded one in. 80 minutes into the game, Grilled wanted to bring some new energy to their game.
Egemen Din�er Ferzan gave
Enrique Baena a quick hug as he left the field. After more pushing and shoving than a pack of helicopter moms trying to get the last appointment for their snowflakes to see the Easter Bunny, Grilled's
Aw Keng Chuan finally got himself booked for a foul. The players were tired, but when the referee announced that there would be 3 minutes of added time, they welcomed the extra opportunity to make an impact. With 90 minutes gone, Grilled's organization began to suffer due to a lack of experience. 90 minutes into the match, Karak's
Jaesung Jang maneuvered his way around the opposition on the left flank, delighting the crowd with his twists and turns. The effort paid off as the ball found the back of the net, evening the score at 4 - 4. The match ends 4 - 4. Looks like Nate Silver was right again - his prediction that Grilled would have 55 percent possession in this half was spot on!
Karak's best player was
Urbi Yago. You can tell it was nickel beer night yesterday at the local bar because
Binodh Telin seemed to stumble all over the pitch. Most important Grilled player was
Chan Ze Han. Even six year old fans were wincing at the poor play by
Gilbert Webb today.