Phantasm 1 - 1 Grilled
Clear skies welcomed the 53870 spectators who had made their way to
Phantasm Hotspurs Arena.
Leonardo Andrisani was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Vedran Šimac and
Carlos Durán. The following players took the field for Phantasm:
Ghani -
Awal,
Mundra,
Kang Woon,
Kong Siong,
Soon Chee -
Seng Wee,
Tang,
Ping Beng,
Chi Wei -
Wee Jian.
Grilled fielded:
Germanakos -
Keng Chuan,
Hutter -
Ferzan,
Thach,
An Keng,
Khairul,
Parada -
Reece,
Ming Xin,
Tokarz.
Phantasm Hotspurs fielded a 5-4-1 lineup. For Grilled Birds, the formation of choice was 2-5-3. For their match strategy, Phantasm had decided to use their titanic (15) ability to counter-attack whenever possible. Grilled mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle, taking advantage of their divine (+1) (21) level with that tactic. With 2 minutes played, the home side managed to get a 1 - 0 lead as
Amar Ikmal Awal flipped the ball in after a cross from the right. The visitors almost came back with an equaliser 6 minutes into the match after a good combination through the middle, but when
Mohd Marzuki Khairul tried to finish the attack, he couldn't get enough power on the shot to seriously challenge the keeper.
Sidqi Ghani's name was chanted throughout the stadium after he made a fantastic save from
Orest Tokarz's shot from the left 27 minutes into the match. 31 minutes in, Phantasm's
Eng Chi Wei received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Coming through the middle
Phua Ming Xin almost scored the equaliser for Grilled after 32 minutes, but
Sidqi Ghani made an excellent save, tipping the awkward curled shot past the post. Good work by the Phantasm defensive line after 33 minutes produced a good counterattack chance, which cut elegantly down the middle of the pitch and found
Amar Ikmal Awal alone in front of the goal, but his shot whistled just wide. It was 1 - 0 at the break. Grilled claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 57 percent.
After 47 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by
Bok Wee Jian might have resulted in another goal for Phantasm. However,
Dimitris Germanakos made a spectacular save. The referee showed Grilled's
Orest Tokarz the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The visitors kept the pressure on to tie the game when, after 59 minutes,
Phua Ming Xin broke through the centre and found himself alone with the keeper.
Sidqi Ghani made a great block, though. The game was close to savage at times, and Phantasm's
Eng Chi Wei received a second yellow card after 60 minutes; his ticket out of the game.
Bok Wee Jian was the new captain of Phantasm - handed the armband by the departing player. It was obvious that team Grilled had instructions to attack in the middle instead of on the wings. With 64 minutes played, the visitors could have drawn level after
Joe Reece came through the middle, but his shot went wide. Phantasm's counterattack was impressive and was only stopped by a shocking foul. Somehow, the referee's cards remained in his pocket - a terrible decision!
Lim Kang Woon's resulting free kick was easily saved by the keeper. As the 89 minute mark approached, the Grilled coach decided it was time for a substitution.
Joe Reece reluctantly made way for
Chan Ze Han on the pitch. The referee decided to let play continue for an additional 1 minute beyond the regular 90 minutes. The visitors refused to give in and, after 89 minutes,
Damian Hutter evened things up as he finished off a perfect pass from the right. 1 - 1 With 89 minutes played,
Chad Thach of Grilled fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. The match ends 1 - 1. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Grilled, with 61 percent of the ball.
Bok Wee Jian performed admirably for Phantasm.
Foong Seng Wee on the other hand, had a terrible day. Grilled's best player was
Mohd Marzuki Khairul. However,
Damian Hutter made a disastrous appearance.