Wesnoth 1 - 6 Grilled
A scorching day at
Coliseum arena, where 3172 spectators were in place for today's match.
Heiko 'Sexy' Sachsen-Paule was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Chayan Acasuso and
Aleksandar Ljubinković. It was a sunny day and the Technical players could roll the ball around with ease. Those that had to chase after the ball found the weather less appealing, it especially stymied the game of Powerful and Quick players. Wesnoth's lineup was:
Abreu -
Ruiz Moreno,
Naing Kyaw -
Nil,
Boonen,
López,
Couvrat,
Payet -
Mučič,
Cedrón,
Stroeckx.
The following players had been chosen by Grilled:
Law -
Jaška,
El Khateeb -
Trindade,
Thach,
Keng Chuan,
Khairul,
Ferzan -
Reece,
La Face,
Chitre.
As the teams spread out over the pitch, it became clear that they would both be using a 2-5-3 formation today. The strategy for Wesnoth was to use their inadequate (5) ability to press. Grilled demonstrated their supernatural (14) creative tactics on the field. The visitors grabbed the lead after
Radovan Jaška's free kick succeeded, resulting in a score of 0 - 1.
Mohd Marzuki Khairul really should have scored when he was chosen by fate to confront a wide open goal following a great play by
Paulino Trindade after a corner. With 23 minutes played, seemingly due to lack of experience,
Mohsen El Khateeb needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. Wesnoth's talent at pressing frustrated the spectators as the game became a dire midfield struggle. The referee showed Grilled's
Radovan Jaška the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. With the crowd on their feet chanting wildly, some great moves down the right hand side after 28 minutes gave Wesnoth a wonderful opportunity to level the score, and
Daniel Mučič stepped up to the challenge. 1 - 1 Grilled's
Evandro La Face gave the visitors a 1 - 2 lead after 31 minutes with a superb strike from the right. After 32 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as Wesnoth found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to passable (6). With 33 minutes played, Grilled put themselves up 1 - 3 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. The scorer was
Evandro La Face. 37 minutes into the game, Wesnoth seemed a little tentative in their play as their organization fell to inadequate (5). The visitors'
Mohsen El Khateeb took advantage of a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and centre backs 38 minutes into the match. 1 - 4 for Grilled. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 4. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Grilled, with 69 percent of the ball.
During the break, Wesnoth's coach went through the team's tactics yet again, getting them up to solid (7) organisation.
Radovan Jaška was, after 50 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the centre, but the home side's keeper
Amável Abreu made the save. Grilled had a magnificent opportunity after 54 minutes as
Joe Reece hit the ball hard from the edge of the penalty box. However, the shot went wide. With 57 minutes played, Grilled's well-worked indirect free kick caused havoc in the penalty area, and when the ball eventually fell to
Aw Keng Chuan he gleefully slotted the ball home to make it 1 - 5. 71 minutes in, Wesnoth appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only passable (6). After the ball was lifted in from the left,
Gandhik Chitre was on his own in the home side's penalty area and should have scored after 72 minutes, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. Grilled increased their lead after 75 minutes when
Mohd Marzuki Khairul broke through on the right, upping the score to 1 - 6, much to the home crowd's dismay.
Mohsen El Khateeb would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise.
Teo Chuan Yong entered the game for Grilled as the match clock showed 80 minutes. 89 minutes into the game, Grilled wanted to bring some new energy to their game.
Gandhik Chitre gave
Bilal Mohammad Harun a quick hug as he left the field. After 89 minutes, the Grilled coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving
Radovan Jaška off the field.
Gilbert Webb took his place. As
Radovan Jaška exited the field,
Teo Chuan Yong volunteered to be the new set pieces taker. The Grilled captaincy was handed to
Bilal Mohammad Harun. It was announced by the referee that he estimated stoppage time to be around 3 minutes. This meant there could still be an extra attack or two left in the match! The match ends 1 - 6. Grilled had most of the ball, with 72 percent of possession.
Pamir Nil performed admirably for Wesnoth.
Amável Abreu on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Grilled player was
Evandro La Face.
Gilbert Webb turned in a dismal performance, however.