Rezekvítek Reaving
Hothead Hu
Eight goals from Czech side Rezekvítek doomed Grilled to yet another friendly defeat, though the gate receipts from nearly five thousand spectators were a consolation. The hosts played hard but fairly for the most part, though two injuries and two yellow cards for each side were an indication of the price that was paid.
Hjortlind was isolated for most of the game, as Grilled were pegged back right from the beginning, despite Rezekvítek playing only the slippery Gniewosz Rywacki up front. He was enough of a handful for Grilled's wheezing defence, and few were taken aback when Jan Miigar strode in to get the opener with just nine minutes gone.
The hosts were not taking anything for granted just yet, and the no-nonsense German lad Ekkehard Oertel laid the 45 year-old
Lan Tuan-Mu flat out with a sweeping kick that should have graced a judo mat. Lan was clearly not going to be able to continue, and his replacement
Fu Dijiang was never quite a defender. Hjortlind received the captain's armband, and continued idling at his end of the field mostly.
Luká Hlína and Miigar put Miigar another couple of goals ahead, before Grilled's acting captain finally decided to take matters into his own hand. He had managed to dribble past all comers up to the edge of the opponents' penalty area, when midfielder tefan Vlach caught up and nicked the ball away. Hjortlind didn't seem too interested in getting out of the way, and poor tefan would suffer a concussion for which he had to be substituted. Hjortlind barely acknowledged the yellow card, to sound boos from the spectators.
Turkish defender Vahdet Babadagli put his side up 4-0 with a collected finish after a defensive error on the part of Huihong, before Kotek headed in the fifth. Huihong, who had been quite overworked, noticeably struggled after doing a split in a praiseworthy attempt to tackle. There were fears that he might have torn a muscle, but the physio soon determined that he was alright.
It didn't get better, which was par for the course where Grilled's reserves are concerned. Deme could have done without landing flat on his face when beaten by Rywacki's intelligent feint, though. Bao-Tam nearly saved his wingback's blushes, but was inches too short. The Grilled keeper did better on Rywacki's next effort, a looping header that threatened to dip beneath the crossbar.
The game started to boil over when Vladimír Slach deliberately appeared to go for the man and not the ball, though Seng-Huat thankfully emerged none the worse for wear. A prompt booking didn't relieve tensions, and a fight nearly started when a frustrated
Hu Jianyong bodychecked Oertel heavily. Hu might have thought it rough justice for Tuan-Mu's injury, but the referee certainly didn't think so. Another yellow was flashed, as Oertel limped off the field.
The home fans had the last laugh, as Hlína and Babadagli added two more to make it eight for Rezekvítek.
