Barney's FC 3 - 5 Grilled Birds
Tournament (Group Phase), Season 7719 March 2021 19:10 HTT
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SCORING SUMMARY
Barney's FC
Grilled Birds
Khalil Al-Saadi (11)
Ladislav Ondričko (38)
Ion-Adrian Aldea (65)
Kalki Parvathaneni (30)
Chan Ze Han (36)
Vikram Mudaliar (59)
Teo Chuan Yong (73)
Bhavya Panigrahi (74)

Barneys Bested
Teo Turns It On

Grilled Birds secured their fifth win in seven World Battle rounds, as they pulled it out late against Tunisian II.1 club Barney's FC, to prevail 5-3. The hosts gave Grilled a run for the money throughout, despite securing but a third of the overall possession, which owed much to their lethality on the few occasions where they actually managed to break through. The match remained finely-balanced until the last twenty minutes, when the Birds dug deep into their reserves, to bury their opponents at last.
A 5-0 thrashing of seifamou_ESS over the weekend had however left Khalil Al-Saadi and Juan Carlos Barabas a doubt for today with minor knocks, but both the former UAE U-20 midfielder and Argentine defender would make it to their starting XI at the end. With 30- year-old homegrown favourite Mohamed Ameur Larayedh leading their line, Barney's were always going to have to be respected when they drove forward.

Their opener would not come through any excellence by Larayedh, however, but from the sheer speed in which they could move the ball back at Grilled's net. Chan Ze Han, having won a free-kick right in front of the opposition box, would be Bhavya Panigrahi's target on the delivery, but Pierre Broggini made a brilliant interception with his chest. Some Grilled players milled about expecting a corner, but Broggini retrieved it on the line, and the flag stayed down. A big and perhaps slightly fortuitous clearance later, Khalil Al-Saadi danced wide of Jānis Salmiņš to stroke the ball home.

Barney's were not shy about sitting on advantages, and with up-and-coming young skipper Fakhri Dachraoui bossing it in midfield against the Birds' finest, Grilled wouldn't have it easy in turning their possession into chances. Chan Ze Han refused to tone it down, despite being closely watched by either Broggini or another defender about all of the time, and his penchant for working even the tiniest of gaps, would send Kalki Parvathaneni inside in the 30th minute. Terje Svele was quick off his line, but Kalki was even quicker off the draw. 1-1.

A string of Grilled efforts would follow, with Kalle ter Berg next to barge in, only to be met by Svele's scything arms; that might have been a penalty had the Dutchman looked for it, but he reflexively vaulted the goalkeeper instead. No trouble, as Chan Ze Han gave the Birds the lead with a stunner from the right shortly afterwards, with Svele then having to watch out for Bilal Mohammad Harun's deceptively-delicate lob.

The Tunisians weren't about to wait around after falling behind, and they would push back following a successfully-denied corner. Former North Macedonian youth international Zlatko Bejkovski collected smoothly under pressure by Ter Berg, and was off and away with a sweet turn to the Dutchman's weaker side. Larayedh made himself available, drawing Panigrahi aside, and left Ladislav Ondričko to take Gilbert Webb on and equalize.

Moey Xin Seng would be booked for a crude tackle soon after the game resumed, as Barney's conservatism again made attacking hard for the Birds all across their line. There was a stalemate of sorts as their energetic midfield snapped at Grilled's own, and it would take an exceptional individual contribution, to shatter the balance. Vikram Mudaliar had not been particularly notable on the right, but an effortless turn of pace had him drift past Alex Bozdog in the 59th minute, and some exquisite finishing made it 3-2.

That had the action heat up again, and Ion-Adrian Aldea had Kalle ter Berg staggering with his silky dribbling, only to rush his finish barely wide. A couple of minutes later, it was Teo Chuan Yong's turn to pull the trigger after a deep drive by Kalki down the left, but he would ping it off the near post. As before, Barney's were only too alert to the counterattacking opportunity, and Ion-Adrian Aldea levelled it for a second time for them, as Larayedh again ran interference.

Barney's were going from strength to strength here, and with their midfield gunning for the initiative for once, they would threaten to overturn the game. It wouldn't be long before their shortcomings were exposed, however, and Bram Steehouwer's more-placid strategy would suddenly make a lot of sense - while all capable ball-players, the young Barney's playmakers were not exactly positionally sound, and their trying to force a way through would leave plenty of space behind them.

The Birds couldn't have missed that, and a couple of rapid square shuffles towards the right flank, would see Teo Chuan Yong overlap Vikram Mudaliar in the 73rd minute. The former Wings trainee might not have opened his official goal account for Grilled since his return, having contented himself with being a role player, but his underlying ability was on full display in this moment. Twisting past one defender, Teo would whip a powerful strike just inside the far post with nary a second glance.

If the hosts were hoping to even it up again, such hopes would be dashed by a clumsy grab from Broggini on Bernie Egan on Grilled's next attack - though given all that the Swiss sweeper had been through, it was hard to blame him too much. Bhavya Panigrahi sized up his options, before cheekily sending it down right through the centre. Had Svele been a fraction later with his leap, he might well have stopped it with his feet.

But a goal remained a goal, and the Birds were not about to lose a two-goal lead at this stage. A double substitution of Wu Jinglong and Salah Kamel on for Kalki and Kalle gave the team fresh legs to that end, and the hosts would not bother Salmiņš again.







      
     
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    Mayhaps Not
    UDNTK Flipped
    An Unlikely Hero
    Barneys Bested
    Sitting Out The Eighth
    Pride Confronted
    All Visited Again
    Tigers Ahoy!
    Repeat In Store
    Tecos Trounced
2016-08-01 00:37:41
anonymous: Thanks for the special mention :) I would just like to expre...
2015-08-17 18:50:02
anonymous: excellent read as always!- Yjorn
2015-06-13 03:08:41
anonymous: Rasha say
Thankssssssssssss
www.kfs.edu.eg
2014-12-14 16:56:39
gilbertlim: well, it seemed like that.
2014-12-12 18:26:33
anonymous: I didn't play a 4-5-2
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