Warriors Triumph
Ankle Agony
United Warrior Team were worthy winners in an unlikely top-of-the-table clash, as Grilled were made to pay for their inaccurate analysis of
Hidde van Liere's leg injury sustained against FC RaZer Infernus. Supposedly, the Dutch wizard was slated to be fully fit after two days of light training, but a final gameday medical showed otherwise after van Liere complained of a stiffness in his foot.
Unfortunately, the starting lineups had been submitted by then, and the capacity crowd at Lest We Forget were treated to the novelty of a substitution before kick-off, with Allen Ødegaard given the all clear. It was evident that Grilled missed van Liere's spark, though, as they struggled to gel in the final third throughout the match.
To Grilled's surprise, the Warriors opted to sit back at home despite taking the game to L1verpool in the derby last week, which made Grilled's own defensive gameplan look out of place. The promotees displayed their mettle in a finely balanced first twenty minutes, a balance that was broken by German midfielder Johann Wilmer's exquisite goal in the 23rd.
Grilled however maintained their grip on possession, and were unlucky to see Bona find the woodwork after Ødegaard showed flashes of brillance to set him up. Their task was made all the more difficult after main striker
Dimitri Simon was rather harshly given a straight red after an altercation with his assigned marker Inge Lien, while Lien didn't even get booked.
To make matters worse, the home side's goalie was in top form. Ex-Herron trainee Afandi bin Zainal dropped like a sack to keep Sid's rapidly dipping free kick out, before contributing another astounding save two minutes later as Martinsson sent the ball towards the top corner.
The visitors didn't let up in the physical department despite being a man down, and Han Kok was an imposing presence as he took charge in the centre. He was winded after clattering into goal hero Wilmer, but Wilmer got the worst of it and had to be substituted by 38 year-old Spaniard Juan Antonio Zuazo.
Sid nearly caught the Warriors napping after he embarked on a lung-bursting overlapping run around Ødegaard on the right, but it was Grilled who were found out in the 70th minute as Talib committed perhaps the first mistake of his Grilled career; He pushed up too far as Grilled sought an equaliser, and couldn't get back in time to stop Rosado from making it two in two games by rolling it past Sulaiman.
Old fox
Ola Martinsson extended his own streak after turning Shiu-Loong neatly, but it was too late to salvage a draw, and the Warriors extended their competitive winning streak to an impressive nine games.
