Cards Aplenty
Örnskog Howitzer
Team Singapore gave Grilled feisty seasonal greetings, receiving five cards from the referee as the evenly-matched sides were seperated by Swedish midfielder Torbjörn Örnskog's 38th minute winner. Grilled had to fault themselves, as the attackers wasted four great chances to bury Team Singapore in the first half.
Aznan Noor Yadah and
Shen Kek-Tjiang's position exchange was the only irregularity in a cookie-cutter starting eleven. The Malay winger was just as eager to run through the middle, and clipped a normal square pass from Rottman slightly over the bar in the first minute. Swedish winger Ulf Lewfeldt collected his second yellow in his short stint at Team Singapore, the first coming on his debut at Grilled. It was a harbinger of more.
Team Singapore's other winger, Patrik Tranlius, was undone by his own acceleration as he could not avoid clattering into
Ma Dai-Lin in a chase for possession. The aged Grilled flanker could have stolen a march on the opponents with a calculated dip to open himself for a shot, but the mediocre effort washed out.
Action spread out as the wings became increasingly clogged, and Patrik Jonsson became the third Team Singapore player charged with foul play. Rottman came off none the worse from the tackle, fortuitously as his senior Siu-Yue was still recuperating at home.
Ola Martinsson seized on a terrific blind pass from Stanton for a powerful placed shot that was a certainty till on-form Dutch custodian Joop Kamphuis did a world-class save.
In the ensuing rush, Swedish defender Tim Almbrant got the ball out by the back, and then held it as his teammates poured back to defend the corner. Martinsson tried to snatch it to no avail, and finally the referee had to come over to give Almbrant a piece of his mind.
Aznan Noor Yadah was caught unprepared when Team Singapore's forest-like backline let Martinsson's inswinger pass overhead, and he tamely duffed his shot outside the post.
The gods just had to penalise such sloppy finishing, as right from the goal kick Andersson teed up for Örnskog to take a potshot. The dipping strike was too much for Harlow to handle, and the Grilled defenders watched despondently as Team Singapore made merry. Their revelry was muted as Patrik Tranlius got sent off the very next minute, as he came in a fraction late on Stanton.
Grilled never really recovered from that setback, and Team Singapore dictated the game in the second half expertly. Grilled had
Clair Harlow to thank for not falling further behind, as the Australian's acrobatics kept out twin strikes from Team Singapore's forwards - first Martin Stjerning and then Robin Andersson. Grilled had to leave The Dome Of The White Lion empty-handed again, with the four-match series between the two sides exactly split.
