RAMADA Delight
Fan Not Enough
Wing prodigy
Fan Chuancheng provided a glimpse of just why he was so highly rated by youth coaches and national scouts, as he got a brace against Portuguese Division Six team RAMADA SAD in Grilled's first friendly of the season. The Grilled mish-mash of youngsters and veterans couldn't hold on to their lead, sadly, and went down 2-4 to the visitors at the end of ninety minutes.
The match had barely gotten underway, when an under-pressure Leonel Escovar tried a pass square across his defence. He hadn't counted on Chuancheng watching his every move, and was shocked as the youngster collected it in his stride and made straight for goal. Parisotto, the intended recepient, struggled to put himself in the way, but was left behind as Chuancheng made an angle for himself and finished the chance like a seasoned campaigner.
That had the fans in a tizzy, and their excitement was doubled when Chuancheng also got the second. To be fair, it was a misjudgment on the part of goalie Gómez, who went for a Darong header from a corner kick, but couldn't keep ahold of it. That should take nothing away from Chuancheng's alertness, as the winger saw his chance and zipped into the right place instantly, clipping the ball away from the man on the post and into the middle of the net.
Two up, Grilled sought to keep the momentum on their side, but were let down by poor passing between players. Their defensive understanding was little better, and Hermínio Sanha enjoyed a free run into the six-yard box barely two minutes after Chuancheng's second goal. The lithe striker let the ball roll across to the inside, and lifted a classy chip over Bao-Tam to make it 2-1.
RAMADA were no strangers to the little deceptions that have become a part of their footballing culture, and Halbauer was booked for hitting the ground rolling despite being barely touched by Deme's tackle. Their speed and skills were at least on a par, on the plus side, and Escovar made up for his earlier lapse with a neat finish from a breathtaking counterattack that lasted just seconds.
Half-time arrived, and RAMADA emerged stronger for it. They began adopting a much harder style of play to stress out the inexperienced Grilled youngsters, and despite Gualter receiving a yellow card for his conduct, the plan worked. Gualter himself reaped the benefits, as he waltzed into the box in the 65th minute to stab home the go-ahead goal.
The Birds then raised their game and put in a good case for a draw with a string of incisive attacks headed by their wingers, but the friendly match was sealed with a quite incredible volley in mid-air by young Algerian midfielder Nazim Khelifi. It was so good that even some of the home support applauded it, and surely a fitting finish to any contest.
