Hardly Halted
Old Guard
With the title already in the bag, Grilled sent their complete second team to Germany to compete against Division Four side FC Haltern 02, giving away a three goal lead before
Chen Chiew-Yen gave the main squad a good omen with the deciding goal late in the match.
The Germans as expected played highly structured soccer that was not too hard to predict. Pre-empting their play was another thing altogether. Grilled's youth generation had been assembled for some months already, but have yet to pick up cooperative defending as a skill as Otto Blaseotto bypassed Kolesov totally on the right, dropping the ball off at the top of the penalty area before getting an instant pass back that looked a certain assist. Blaseotto responded by spraying what looked suspiciously like a cross past the uncovered goalmouth.
Grilled played around with a certain relaxedness, and feints and tricks were the order of the day as the players remained immersed in the party mood. For all their fralities getting back, Grilled's central midfield are a thing to look at when unlocking defences, and in the 19th minute all their ploys fell into place as Rottman was released down the middle and Siu-Yue played the ball to him all the while looking at Hobson, who was audibly calling for it. Rottman had the element of surprise on his side and tapped in as Haltern's goalie Jan Kohlschein was still swivelling around.
Notoriously inconsistent Riviera was in form as he bullied newly-inducted youth defender Franck Torwart on his flank, teasing him with spirited footwork and more often than not getting a quality cross in. The fault was with Grilled's forwards as a rusty Hobson failed to contact with at least two headers, and it took Kolesov to finish one of them as he hit a half-volley inside the far post.
Kolesov turned provider on the next assault, as Hobson opted for a stylish volley over a diving header as he attacked a waist-high pass from the Bulgarian winger. His feet did him proud as the ball dropped over Kohlschein to put Grilled 3-0 up. Grilled appeared content to let the score be as
Frank Öhmo yelled instructions for the midfielders to work on their holding abilities.
Haltern seized the initiative, with Czech midfielder Mio tefancic improvising an outlandish pass with his knee that sent Uzay Topaloglu clean through. Topaloglu had some work to do as he was still some distance from the goal, but Siu-Cheung's half-hearted defending hardly inconvenienced him and he lofted a confident shot into a top corner. Haltern maintained their passing system, but the numbers in Grilled's half kept them out. Dominik Vanweersch meanwhile got cautioned as he shoulder-charged Paullin.
Haltern's Topaloglu went into the second half with his heart on his sleeve as he showed the ball to Pakpao before pulling it back and going the other way, wrongfooting the Thai defender as he placed his shot into the foot of the post. Grilled's midfielders were justifiably irritated at this turn of events, and were not much help marking players. Rottman, who had appeared in several league matches as a defender, was perhaps best suited to the new orders but was lucky to escape with a yellow card for hacking down largely anonymous Spanish forward Leovigildo Pulido Quecedo.
The third goal for Haltern appeared inevitable as the team pressed on an impotent back three, and come it did as Romanian Miclãus Munteanu started a run from midfield and was not picked up by three or four Grilled players he encountered on his way. By the time he reached Pakpao he wasn't pausing for anyone, and passed the last man with a swift stride. Huel-sheng was on hand to smother any grounder, only for Munteanu to lift the ball over him for a terrific equaliser.
Grilled reverted to the attacking play that saw them build a commanding lead, and within two minutes
Chen Chiew-Yen was up against Jan Kohlschein in the opposite goal. Chen whacked the ball hard, but the keeper didn't have to move to block his direct shot. Chen made the best of his next opportunity in the 85th minute as he picked his spot well in a similar situation. Topaloglu almost had Haltern share the spoils for this friendly as he arrowed in a forceful shot in the last minute, for Huel-sheng to claw over and out for a fruitless corner.
