Mariste Marination
Allan Accelerates
Champions of Senegal Real Mariste FC romped to an entertaining 5-3 win despite
Allan Ødegaard's epic runs down the left flank, as Mariste forwards Tony León and Gabriel Campos each bagged a brace before their skipper Vítor Folha stepped in to round things off.
Mariste were in a celebratory mood, having sewn up their first major trophy a couple of weeks ago, and marked their coronation with a 5-1 rout of Modele de Mbao in the final week. Grilled weren't about to be passive participants, as German defender Frank Liebrecht found out to his dismay when Ødegaard absolutely blew past him to crack a left-footer into goal.
Grilled pressed on and nearly went two up when fullback Alexandre de Ana scrambled a placed strike by Bukhari off the line in the very next minute. The home fans waited till the 27th minute to be in full voice, when promising Venezuelan teenager Tony León capped a wild sprint by banging a screamer past Bao-Tam from outside the box.
Most of the first half still belonged to the visitors, with Mariste's New Zealand reserve goalie Greg Goodman called upon to save twice in succession from
Ulf Hjortlind. Bao-Tam in contrast couldn't do anything against Campos' composed strike after Moroccan Abdulah Abbas Nasser broke past his marker on the left wing.
Mariste would not take a lead into the dressing room, however, as Hjortlind finally did it the hard way. This time closely guarded with his back to goal, the Swede striker brought the ball down cleanly on his thigh before swiveling and lobbing Goodman from some twenty metres out.
The atmosphere began to really warm up after León wheeled away from the Grilled end with his second of the day, off a weak shot due to defensive interference that somehow still managed to trickle past Bao-Tam. This was instantly answered by the energetic Ødegaard, who had gained not a few admirers among the Mariste supporters. Shrugging a man off his shoulder, the Norge winger played his pass so well that Hjortlind only had to clip it over a diving Goodman.
Sensing an intriguing contest, the fans upped the volume another notch, and then another after Campos beat the luckless Bao-Tam with an inch-perfect chip that dropped in after shaving the bottom of the crossbar. There were a few boos after
Lim Chuan Jing clattered crudely into lanky French lad Jean-Hugues Fazilleau, necessitating the forward to be stretchered off and himself to be sent off, but thankfully the general mood remained upbeat.
Grilled were put on the defensive as Malaysian first-teamer Rusdi bin Yahya came off the bench for an unplanned final appearance for Mariste, but the final goal would go to veteran midfielder and captain Vítor Folha whose quick feet saw him direct the ball between Bao-Tam's legs from a outswinging cross.
