Spirited Warriors
Two Minute Hits
United Warrior Team enjoyed their first win in the S-League this season against a disjointed and defensive Grilled team, who against most expectations rested
Subri bin Ku Zainol. The Malaysian forward has been one of Grilled's most consistent players this term, and while Rotteveel was decent as a lone striker, he just didn't have enough in the bag to trouble the Warriors' defence on a soggy pitch.
Grilled's other form player,
Quah Han Kok, was likewise hampered by the rain, in addition to his training with the national squad in preparation for the international against Bahrain, which he ended up sitting out. Quah attempted to kickstart his side by taking the play down the left, but Knebelsberger had a whopper of a game and made him look positively ordinary.
The German winger starred on the offensive as well, as he sent a deceptive free-kick that appeared to float over the grass, after Rosado squared the ball wide to him, bypassing Grilled's wall. Valdir tried to get his body behind the shot, but the ball somehow managed to spin over and beyond him upon contact.
There was to be no blaming the Brazilian for the Warriors' next goal within the minute. Some laughable miscommunication between Rotteveel and Branbilla led to Grilled losing the ball straight from the kick-off, a harmless cross that was going out was bundled into the construction hoardings by Talib, and finally Sid didn't track his man off the short corner, and allowed Wu Kang-yin to walk the ball in at the far post.
That gave the Warriors an added lift, as they prepare to face Montenegro league champions osk IGALO the next day. The home team continued to keep the ball with cautious passes, and Rotteveel made his frustrations known as Grilled's speed on the flanks counted for nothing on the day.
Dani Spirig was taken down by Bai Ming-Foo quite violently four minutes into the second half, and a dismissal might have changed the game. However, the referee somehow felt that the offence warranted only a yellow card. Grilled could only take consolation from the fact that Bai became more subdued after the incident, but the Warriors remained in control, and should have put the game to bed when the poorly marked player-coach Hairil Zamri bin Moidony sent in a free header that was barely clawed away by Valdir.
The match was winding down when
Zoltán Árva suddenly breathed some life back into it in the 85th minute, as he smoothly controlled Rotteveel's touch-on as the Warriors backline held off, thinking no-one was in that position. The Hungarian centreback kept his nerve to stroke it past Afandi bin Zainal to ensure that Grilled would at least not return empty-handed.
