Fruit Juiced
Rotteveel Rottweiler
Grilled's desperately-sought win finally came after a string of disheartening results, even as attendance fell to a miserable twenty-eight thousand at The Cooking Pot. Tomoto fruit were likewise struggling, coming into the game on the back of two draws and a defeat, and the Birds took full advantage to add to their troubles.
Credit must be given to the visitors for maintaining their positive outlook with an offensive 3-4-3 formation, though their midfield was far from imposing enough to adequately supplying their strong frontline. Grilled always looked like scoring when they got the ball in the box, and their chance came when Han Kok was squashed by two defenders after startling them with a rapid change of direction. Rotteveel sent the spot kick down the middle to make it 1-0.
Quah was extremely active in the first half, popping up all over the pitch and even clipping a superb effort off the top of the bar. Tomoto were kept on the backfoot, and winger Zhu Jie Jiong was lucky to remain on the pitch after a horrible hack on Penati after being beaten for pace. They then lost local defender Sun Han to a head gash after he went up for a header not seeing that a teammate was jumping in too, and was substituted for Swiss oldie Maurice Rimbeaux.
The switch didn't do their organization any favours as Rimbeaux struggled to adapt, and
Zoltán Árva cleverly seized the opportunity to overlap the newcomer. In for a two-on-one with Italian goalkeeper Ignazio Arno, Árva tried to square it to Subri for a sitter, but Arno somehow did a split to deflect the ball with his toes.
Good as Ignazio Arno, he could do nothing when striker Adrián Boixaderas showed his naivety in defence when he put a hand on Rotteveel's shoulder, notwithstanding the fact that two more defenders were between the Dutchman and the goal. Rotteveel obligingly fell over backwards, the referee pointed to the spot, and Rotteveel aimed his kick into the top right corner this time.
Tomoto upped the ante as Ursin Fallot began to assert himself up front, while the underperforming Boixaderas lost the chance to redeem himself as he was swapped for German teenager Markus Kreienredder. That didn't fix their underlying issues in midfield, though, and Grilled should have increased their lead if not for the form of Arno. Penati looked a lock-on to find the net when he lifted the ball towards the far corner from range, but the Tomoto goalie somehow arched to palm the ball over.
That was the only notable moment of the half for Penati, whose stamina will surely be called into question as he walked for most of the remaining half-hour. Talib beat Arno but not the left post, and Grilled's easy dominance faded after
Dani Spirig slammed into an advertising board after chasing an overhit pass.
Ivaylo Mirchev wasn't quite up to pulling the strings, and Tomoto held Grilled comfortably after the switch.
