akodo 2 - 3 Grilled Birds
Knockout Done
All Árva
Grilled's struggles took a turn for the better as they claimed all three points from a flailing akodo side, who might find themselves in trouble despite two wins before this. The City side attracted a fair turnout at the Sanzo Arena in spite of the pouring rain, and were first off the mark through homegrown star Cai Ruosheng.
The tall Cai has made a name for himself as a legitimate aerial threat, but it was his underrated touch that brought him akodo's opener. With his back to goal after bringing it down as usual from a high ball, he was given space to turn by Lik-Tsun, who immediately regretted it as Cai spotted Valdir off his line and looped in a delicate lob.
akodo seemed set to collect their third win on the trot as they bossed the midfield, with Branbilla's lightfooted style of running severely curtailed by the soggy grass. Grilled's defence dug in well, and after surviving some scares the Birds equalised through the left boot of Rotteveel, who stretched to reach a Darong pass.
The conditions did neither team any favours, as Branbilla got his studs stuck in the turf, while Kwok Jie Lai was visibly annoyed after misplacing several straightforward passes. Only Darong somehow avoided the curse of the weather, as his shot crept in despite it probably not being what he intended.
akodo still retained the lion's share of possession, and winger Li Seng Jing became the one to put akodo back in it. With the Grilled defence reeling from akodo's slick passing, he ran at
Nawaz Talib, who stepped in too early and opened a clear path to goal.
The Birds threw caution to the wind as they needed the win, and their recklessness shook the previously calm akodo defence. Forced back by Grilled's swarming tactics, a gap opened on the right side as Penati drew a couple of men aside, and
Zoltán Árva ghosted in to flub the ball past a distressed Lian Deng-Geng.
The roles were then reversed as the home side frantically attempted to get something out of the game, and accidents began to happen as the footballers sped around on wet ground. Mohd Firdaus was the first casualty, as he got Yuan Shiu ling's studs imprinted on his thigh after the akodo defender slipped while executing a tackle.
Fan Chuancheng, the substitute, added some much-needed pace and energy up top, and akodo were next to suffer injury with goalscorer Li Seng Jing coming off the worse after taking a charge by Lik-Tsun, who escaped a booking. Tan Ping Wee came on for him.
The final minutes were more frantic than ever, as Grilled narrowly missed putting the game to bed as MacKinnon hesitated and took too long to get his shot off. akodo then nearly saved a point with a rush down the middle, but forward Soon Liang How held out for the perfect opportunity, and ended up hoofing the ball into the terraces in disgust as the final whistle went earlier than he had expected.
