No Fantastic Eleven
Rotteveel Goes Dry
There would not be interesting times for
Maikel Rotteveel's growing legions of fans as the Dutch striker fell short of becoming the first Grilled player to own an eleven match scoring streak. The Light Fantastic were never going to be pushovers, though, with a mean fifteen game winning run and having defeated competent clubs in newbies are newbies and Kampong Dreamer in previous rounds.
The Light Fantastic had assembled a very cosmopolitan team featuring only two locals, and helmed by the S$5 million Polish central midfielder Benon Jedrys, who might not look out of place in Grilled's starting eleven. Even their relative quality in midfield was no match for Grilled, who were hardly warned off by Cristóvão Sousa's statement-of-intent tackle on Paullin early on.
In another rain-soaked game, it was left to Sid to boot in the first goal from a rather questionable penalty. Though Asanee Janrung did have a hand on Subri's jersey when the Malaysian moved forward in the penalty area, it seemed to most observers that Subri had slipped on his own accord. Sid never needed a good reason to score from the spot, though, and happily sent the Greek goalie Yiorgos Dimakakis the wrong way.
Paullin relied on his skill with his speed being curtailed by the soggy pitch, and managed to clip a wayward crossfield pass from
Lee Jie Siong over Dimakakis to double Grilled's lead. Mats Davidsson was booked for delaying a Grilled free-kick in the 35th minute, but it was to no avail as Rotteveel assisted Subri with a headed flick-on. The Malaysian ex-U20 didn't waste the opportunity, poking the ball between the goalie's legs to shatter the hosts' ambitions.
Spirig then disappointed with his few forays down the left after the restart, as his delivery was consistently found wanting. Davidsson then became the first player to score against Grilled in this season's Cup after Valdir had dived well to bat out Zeng Chun-Hung's downwards header. It was a classic center forward's effort as Davidsson hurled himself at the loose ball to bundle it over the line.
Bona nearly restored the lead with a nice volley, but all eyes were on Grilled's prospective history-maker as the minutes ticked away. The attempts to feed Rotteveel were too obvious, however, and the Dutchman always had a couple of markers to contend with. In the end
Dani Spirig got the final goal of the game, and Rotteveel was consigned to try again another time.
