Compton Gumption
Peter Poser
Welsh Division Two team f.c compton looked sharp in their red and white pinstripes, but Grilled's friendly ended 4-2 to them once more. compton's Alex Wallis came close once with a laid-on free kick strike, then hit the target in the 11th minute as right midfielder Scottie Newman found space and time out wide. Wallis ghosted in behind bin Che Lah, and put his height to good use as he towered over the defender and headed a goal unopposed.
bin Che Lah had a bad day as he felt shortchanged by several bad calls, and lashed out in frustration at Fabisiak. The referee gave him a stern talking to and a yellow card for good measure.
Joe Stern put things in perspective when he turned on the afterburners against the unwary Berngård, who was the last man back as Rogers was tied up in attack. Berngård made up lost ground, but a sweet sidefoot to Kolesov and a prompt return pass had Stern passing the ball into goal.
Five minutes later, Elliot Ramdhanie did much the same to Seng-Huat with Iwan Rogers providing the assist, and Grilled fell behind two goals to one. compton were unlucky not to extend their lead as their well-balanced team of Wales and Swedish professionals displayed no-nonsense holding football. Grilled's callow midfielders fell prey to simple designs, while the wingers had their opportunities but were out of form.
Much-vilified midfielder Peter Magunsson took the game to the Welsh after the restart, and engaged accomplished leftback Jonathan Christiansson in a race down the right. Magunsson fell on his back as he strained to hook a cross in, but it was well worth the effort as
Joe Stern found himself in the right spot to level things up again with a looping header. The game was still compton's to lose, and Öhmo found himself on the receiving end of some powerful shots.
Ramdhanie had the best of chances in the 67th minute as Tuan-Mu lost the plot and left the middle wide open. With only the keeper present, he thought to give Öhmo the run-around but went too far wide, his finishing shot grazing the side netting. Grilled capitalised on a blunder by Iwan Mabe at the other end, as he let a goal kick bounce over him, oblivious to Peter Magunsson chasing it. By the time he realised his fault, Magunsson had placed the ball out of Claesson's reach to hand Grilled the initiative.
Errors were by no means Mabe's sole domain, as
Weng Seng-Huat committed one of similar magnitude almost immediately as he overhit his back header, making Öhmo scramble to push it out of play. compton were often one touch away from the equaliser, such as in the 84th minute when Sobieslaw Fabisiak read the game well and moved first towards a telling pass from the right. Tuan-Mu hacked it clear not a second too early, as Fabisiak was in prime position to win a penalty from a lesser challenge.
An unlikely hero arose as Magunsson went for glory six minutes from the end, as he flicked Rottman's short pass to knee level and volleyed home. compton chased the game to the last, but their scoring boots had deserted them and Grilled collected an unconvincing win.
