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Terfili Tenacity
Bao-Tam's Kick Saved
Albanian Division Two side F.C_TERFILI were unbreakable as they protected their goal stoutly in their return friendly with Grilled. Having disposed of Grilled 3-0 at home, many expected F.C_TERFILI to continue hammering at the Birds, but they turned out to be far more cautious when playing away to the consternation of the home fans, who were hoping that this rare friendly at The Cooking Pot would be a treat for the eyes.
There were hard challenges aplenty, if few slick moves, as both sides gave no quarter. F.C_TERFILI shifted from an attacking 5-4-1 to a very defensive 4-5-1, with their back four hardly venturing out of their own half, and with their wingers Lenny Toft Nielsen and Kristofers Viskers tasked to bring the team forward.
This they tried, but they made little progress with support not forthcoming, and Nielsen's participation in the match was over after just fifteen minutes. Hjortlind thought his tackle on the 30 year-old Dane was hard but fair, and while the fairness was subjective, the tackle was certainly very hard. In the end, Nielsen had to be replaced by his 46 year-old coach, Willfried Köhler.
That injury made F.C_TERFILI even more unwilling to go forward, and Köhler's surprising utility in defence didn't bode well for Grilled. The visitors almost managed to sneak in a goal against the run of play, when Kau was caught ball-watching in the 62nd minute as Geladakis came in on his blind side. In panic, Kau hit a backpass that almost eluded Bao-Tam, who scrambled it out for a corner eventually.
Canadian midfielder Dylan Kilner collided with Swee Pheng at speed, an accident that allowed Quah to come in from the sidelines. Even Quah was not able to change the game, as F.C_TERFILI continued their infuriating waiting game. Full time, and then extra time, passed without any notable shots on target.
It came down to penalties. Hjortlind, Alcántara, Han Kok and Jie Siong all scored, but Bao-Tam's effort down the middle being saved meant that Grilled lost, since F.C_TERFILI made all five of their spot kicks.
