Chiltec Chill
Bodes Badly
The axes are out as Grilled were toothless in their warmup friendly against Chile's chiltec F.C, lone forward Martinsson saving some face with a nifty solo jingle that salvaged a win.
Frank Öhmo served notice of his intentions with a boring 4-5-1 soak and strike strategy, shackling his midfielders to behind the midfield line.
Belgian midfielder Rick Keessen was the source of most of chiltec's attacking moves, but the double layered defence defied penetration. Paullin, given the spot roaming just behind Martinsson, broke the monotony in the 30th minute by staking out the far post and tipping in a Kolesov cross.
Winger Cosmin Pelin cancelled that one out two minutes later as team captain
Luis Alcántara made a mess of things as he attempted to set up an offside trap. That failed miserably as Pakpao was still caught near the endline at the other flank, and Pelin's one-on-one with Huel-sheng ended with a cut into the inside of the keeper and a simple finish.
In the second half,
Ola Martinsson came into his own, and looked dangerous whenever he had the ball. His first shots were wild, and a goal seemed unlikely as he was constantly followed by the defensive pair of Constantino Araya and Bob Klein Legtenberg. Dutchman Legtenberg's excellent reading deprived Martinsson of more chances, until he broke away and bamboozled skipper Lucien Forest with a series of ball fakes that players ten years younger would have found hard to follow.
As the slowing Forest tried to keep up, Martinsson made American goalkeeper Himes an onlooker with a drifting shot that ended up going in just under the crossbar. That was his only real contribution as chiltec rallied in front of the home fans, with Rick Keessen leading the charge. The Belgian hit the ball hard from afar, and Huel-sheng would not have got to it had it been accurate.
Mirko Belada of Bosnia, a hard defender, who quietened
Antonio Fernández Riviera effectively through most of the game, eventually got booked for following through on a biting tackle. The Grilled team looked bored collectively as nothing was going for them upfield, and their careless passing was too often picked off by chiltec.
Pelin had a field day marauding down the left as Alcántara displayed fatigue from a long season. A nice bit of control nearly saw him picking up a second goal, denied by Huel-sheng as he went in bravely to take the shot in the stomach. Eino Kortesmaa felt he had been fouled in the 86th when Rottman jostled the ball from him, and his outburst saw only the second yellow card of the game.
