Just Becoz
Antolínez Ace
The Birds might have stolen a win from Thorocozzieq, but probably did not deserve more than a point as they paraded a distinctly mediocre brand of football for most of the match. Not that they got even that in the end, as Thorocozzieq's main striker Antonio David Antolínez came up with the goods for them to keep pace at the top of the table.
Subri was still out for Grilled, but the hosts were without important midfielder Francisco Blanco and speedy winger Carlos Ottero themselves, which gave rise to the hope that Grilled could block their advances in the middle and hit hard on the flanks. It was however the obvious strategy for Grilled, who are operating on a thin squad, and neither hope was fully realised.
The writing was on the wall from the start, as the confident Thorocozzieq team asked big questions of the ageing Grilled defence with their three energetic strikers. A lot of weaving in and out distracted Grilled's backline, and allowed wingback Argun Dogruer to hop in and wallop a first-time effort. Valdir could only look back as the ball went past him, though it ended up coming back off the crossbar.
That was evidently not enough warning for the Birds, who were caught napping again in the next four minutes.
Han Lik-Tsun appeared to have Chong Feng Han adequately covered, by getting his body in close, but the ex-international was eventually hustled to one side by Chong's aggressive movements. Nobody arrived to help out in time, and Chong squeezed off a cutting drive that beat Valdir at his right post.
The hosts threatened to run away with the game, as the active Antolínez tried a cheeky volley that might have embarassed Valdir had it not wafted off course. Grilled's first respectable attempt came after half an hour as
Ciro Penati burnt Dogruer for pace down the right and lifted in a flat cross. Incredibly, Branbilla's instinct allowed him to meet the cross early, and the header dropped past an unprepared Friedrich Brehm, who must have thought that the contact would come later.
That clinical finish took some of the wind out of Thorocozzieq's sails, and the home side were much more muted for the remaining minutes of the half, letting Grilled enter the break on level terms. They were to be further wounded as
John MacKinnon gave Grilled the lead, with only his tenth goal in 105 appearances for the team. It was due mainly to some wishy-washy defending down the right of Thorocozzieq's defence, as they allowed the Scotsman to slip through too easily.
It would have been something of an injustice had the scoreline stood, but Grilled helped their opponents' revival by electing to sit back on their lead. It was thus little surprise when the hosts quickly barged down the door with Mohd Zaharul Aiman sticking his leg out to direct the ball past Grilled's defenders after Herzig went very deep down his flank, and Antonio completed the comeback with excellent placement, once again at Valdir's right post.
