Seven Stars
Interesting Tactics
Rising Division Five club Northen Star didn't have many cards to play against Grilled, but gave it a go with a creative counterattacking gameplan that ultimately didn't pay off. Their strong fanbase didn't seem to mind, though, as the over forty thousand strong crowd generated an atmosphere seldom seen in so early a round.
While both teams opted for three in attack, Northen's trio didn't see much action, as they were not helped by playing only Hassan Griffiths in central midfield. With the way that he was swamped by Spirig and Jie Siong, it was a wonder that Grilled only got their first attempt on target in the sixth minute, when Spirig pinged a lob onto the crossbar.
Rotteveel got his second yellow of the season when he went through Northen's captain Kwannah in an effort to take the ball into the net, which he did succeed in doing only to have the goal disallowed. Subri and Bona soon dealt a quick one-two blow to Northen, with powerful shots that eluded Iranian goalkeeper Ömer Dirlik.
Grilled went four up by half-time as
Mohd Firdaus bin Yaacob tapped in from a Fjällbratt cross before Mirchev turned Mikael Alexandersson inside-out in his impressive dribble into the six-yard box. Subri foolishly found himself in the referee's book too when he got hold of a defender's shirt for no reason at all, and the hosts' wishes for a consolation goal were not answered when Neo Yeng Kim got carded for a rather opportunistic fall in the corner of Grilled's area.
Grilled laid the game to rest in the second half, with a nice pass combination between Rotteveel and Subri leading to the former toepoking his ninth goal of the season into the top corner of Dirlik's goal. Spirig was quick to a raking crossfield pass by Mirchev, and he put himself through with a great first touch and didn't disappoint with the finish. The seventh and final goal came from Mohd Firdaus, who only struck true after not finding an open man to give the ball to.
