Unbalanced By Tinom
Kaldrup Kops It
Tinombala gave Grilled a qualifier to think about, as they picked a counter-attacking Birds side apart at home. Grilled opted to start with two out-and-out wingers in Penati and Deme to force the hosts' fullbacks back, but they never had the opportunity as Tinombala's early surge left them in control for the rest of the game.
Needing a win to avoid a potentially nervous qualification match, Tinombala were determined to achieve safety as quickly as possible, judging from the eagerness of their players to get forward. They successfully flooded a hesitant Grilled midfield, and could have gotten a decisive advantage when Huang Chi Tao looked to have been felled by Valdir as he ran freely into the six-yard box.
The offence was probably a straight red and a penalty if it were given, but the referee decided that Chi Tao had flung himself down a bit too eagerly, to disbelief from the Tinombala midfielder. The hosts got their own back soon enough, as speedy striker Lin Shang mei twisted around
Han Lik-Tsun on the outside and knocked a speculative ball back into the box. Nicolaj Kaldrup had built up a great understanding with his strike partner, and was on hand to turn it in for the lead.
Tinombala were far from done, and Valdir was left screaming at his defenders to provide cover when Tan Ting Sze managed to get within shooting range far too easily for his taste. Tan fired over that time, but Kaldrup made no such mistake from his next chance, again arriving on the dot for Maloca's pinpoint lob, and lifted his shot over a springing Valdir.
Grilled appeared to have the rub of the green after Tuulik was caught pulling MacKinnon's shirt in the final minutes of the half. These infringements are rarely given, but the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, whereby Rotteveel cooly converted. The home support was further incensed as Maloca's bid for a penalty of their own was punished with a yellow card, as it was not altogether clear whether contact had been made by Árva, even after slow-motion replays.
The Birds saw a glimmer of hope as their reserve goalie Azrul Amri bin Hassan came the worst off after a collision with his own defender, and with regular goalie Wang Wai-Kit still out on a long-term injury, they were left with experienced midfielder-turned-coach Ng Dong An as an emergency replacement.
Unfortunately the Birds were unable to test Ng as the home side pushed forward to protect their makeshift keeper, and gained more breathing space with a gem of a corner kick by Kaldrup. It went straight to the head of the imposing Ivan Hauschel, who ignored the distraction of Branbilla to power a bullet header in at the near post.
Grilled never quite recovered from that setback, and were kept on the retreat with Deme taking one for the team, by delaying Tinombala from taking a quick free kick when they had the numbers up front. Subri did well to craft a couple of half-chances for himself, but didn't overly trouble even Ng, while Quah's noticeable lack of stamina towards the end killed any hopes of a Grilled comeback.
