Harriers Honors
Low Morale
Three thousand faithful who had turned up to watch Grilled get soundly thrashed by Division Five Swiss team Seefeld Harriers United must have cause to ask for their money back. Grilled were still stung by their 0-7 capitulation to FC RaZer Infernus three days ago, as they looked positively disinterested in their visitors. Amazingly enough only
Lan Tuan-Mu took any part in that embarrasing defeat, but the whole team other than the forward line just went through the motions.
Harriers' defensive 5-3-2 gave possession to Grilled, but wingers Riviera and Magunsson looked jaded and hardly contributed.
Jon Andrea Rottman did show some spirit, and earned a free-kick in the 23rd minute when he was sent rolling by Wilczynski.
Joe Stern used a long run-up to put much power on the ball, and it went in over Finn Pauli Backman in goal. Harriers had trouble in midfield, as Korcan Ferahet brought down Riviera and got a caution. They stuck to their strength in countering, and after
Tim Hobson was crowded out by the five-man defence, Alex Mayer cleared down the left and defender Hartwig Waser was in the right place to turn Cottier's pass to the centre into goal.
Harriers switched modes rapidly, and
Kau Siu-Cheung drifted into the middle, leaving the left unguarded. Cottier nearly had a free run down that side, but Öhmo stood firm and warded him off.
Lan Tuan-Mu raced onto Hobson's header on a goal kick at the Harriers end, but his sidefooted shot breezed past the post. The referee played five minutes of extra time for no apparent reason, and it saw Harriers counterattacking at each opportunity. The Grilled defence wavered, and gave away a free kick that central defender Gabriel Gerber sliced wide.
Asser Wolfer complained that Kolesov had rushed out of the Grilled wall before the kick was taken, resulting in a yellow card for dissent. Gerber got another try as bin Che Lah held back Couto, and this time he got it right, swirling his dead ball beyond Öhmo's grasp. This time,
Jon Andrea Rottman felt Gerber had taken his shot before the whistle and showed his displeasure by booting the ball into the stands, picking up a silly yellow. Grilled had the last word as Riviera advanced down the right and changed the direction of attack by finding Stern on the other flank. Stern struck the pass with his knee, and found the left post, upon which the Harriers defence scrambled it away to preserve their lead.
Grilled were out of ideas and kept sending passes to Stern, but the Canadian was too closely marked to capitalise on his speed. He was not far away in the 53rd minute when he tried his luck from distance, but the ball did not dip sufficiently and whizzed over the bar. Harriers fared little better in their forays, and Gabriel Gerber sullied his record by bringing
Au-Yong Siu-Yue down.
Grilled's stamina eventually wore thin, and Harriers wrapped the game up through their forwards. Longtime fixture Dänu Cottier cut in behind Tuan-Mu as American Bob Hastings held off a host of challengers, and ran the ball between Öhmo's legs for the third goal. Free transfer Gaspar Couto showed his worth in the 80th minute, pirouetting and lashing MacKay's cross from the right into the top corner. There wasn't much fight left in the downcast Grilled team, and they left the pitch 1-4 losers.
