The Drama Continues
Rotteveel Sees Red
Grilled's fans at The Cooking Pot were hoping for a coronation, the travelling contingent prayed for one of their own, but all either side got was a cliffhanger as Grilled could only match Rollin' at home. The Birds looked set to put one hand on the S-League trophy for the first time in their history as they dominated the first half and sat on a handy goal advantage, but Rotteveel's sending off meant that they were always on the back foot in the second half, which allowed Batista to hand Rollin' a lifeline.
After wrapping their regulars up in cotton wool for the previous week, Grilled were arguably at full strength, with
Hidde van Liere the only possible exception - the much-storied Dutch winger was preferred on the bench as a tactical option. Rollin' in contrast were missing a top forward in Pinto, as well as Szatanik who failed a late fitness test.
Lee Jie Siong made it back to Grilled's starting lineup right on time, as Liehner put out the middle-heavy strategy that had served him so well this season.
Captain Han led by example once more as he pushed upfield like a classic attacking sweeper of old, possibly buoyed by his goal last weekend against the Warriors. Rollin's defence was a different proposition though, and the trio of Iskandar Zulkernain, Zainuddin and Raja Azlan Shah held firm. Grilled's fans were left to bemoan the damage that Martinsson could have done with his technical skills against this collection of giants, but there was nothing for it.
Few pundits would have left out Rotteveel as the man to watch in this title decider, and indeed probably this season's star performer in the league appeared to be trying too hard to stamp his authority on the game. He had no business trying to hack the ball out from underneath Zainuddin, for instance, a point which the defender emphasized by rolling around clutching his sides after contact was made. The striker didn't agree with the yellow card for his first challenge of the game, and was about to berate the referee when Han Kok pulled him away.
Rotteveel reminded the fans just why so much expectation was placed on him just three minutes later, as he spun past his marker straight through the middle after getting a ball to his feet courtesy of Talib. There is just no accounting for individual flair in a tight match as this one, and the outstanding Deng Wei-Ming could do little but look as Rotteveel's confident finish flew over his outstretched arms.
It seemed that Maikel would make it a fairytale day for Grilled when he rose highest to meet a short cross from Han Kok in the 37th minute with the defenders stranded, but Zulkernain made it over just in time to put Maikel's header off. The situation was still well in Grilled's favour as Rollin' had not imposed themselves at all, and then the hero so far put a foot through Dutch midfielder Jurjan de Man's legs in an act of unmitigated stupidity.
All the players in sight knew that it was a clear booking, and instantly two opposing factions surrounded the harried referee, pleading either for him to overlook the foul or to pull out his cards again. A hand holding the yellow slowly appeared over the heads of the crowd to the horror of the home support, and the red inevitably followed. Rotteveel was out.
Grilled at least managed to ride out the remaining few minutes of the half against Rollin's assault, and lined up for the second half in a 3-5-1 that had Subri take on the mantle of targetman. The Malaysian ex-U20 international cleverly kept possession for as long as possible whenever possible, and could even have put the game to bed right from the restart as he volleyed a magnificent volley onto the top of the crossbar.
Rollin' were too good a side to let their man advantage go begging, and soon Grilled found themselves permanently on the defensive. Hiekka created a quite beautiful chance for local midfielder Chua Min Fu with a pass threaded between the last two Grilled defenders, but Chua's effort was far too soft to seriously trouble Valdir. Chua then found himself the object of hatred when he chopped Grilled's captain down in a manner akin to Rotteveel. Sid insisted that the referee send Chua off too, but cooler heads prevailed and yellow was probably what was deserved.
The match went on with Han getting treatment off the pitch, since there was simply no other defender that could be trusted to keep the team together. That proved fatal for Grilled, however, as the nine remaining men put up a rather naive defence and allowed Mak Sze Wai to pull them to one side with a brilliant run down the right. Mak's hanging cross just asked to be headed in by Rollin's titans, but it instead fell to João Carlos Batista who did the job with a precise grounder to Valdir's far post.
With the title well and truly up for grabs now, Rollin' continued to search for a decisive second, but found it impossible as Han was back on the pitch directing matters. Grilled had no better luck trying to steal a second despite their supporters being in full voice, as Subri simply didn't have the support to provide the scares. In the end, Grilled had to be content with keeping their fate firmly in their own hands, going into the final game.
