Five For Sixth
Domenik Declares
Grilled gave themselves a shot at staying in Division Two with a cracker of a match against Rajah XI, with German forward
Domenik Bögengang finally properly introducing himself with a hat-trick. New arrival
Gleb Dorogan was in fine form too, but it was Rotteveel who stole the show with two assists and a goal.
Needing a win or bust, Grilled dove right into the task before them, while the already-relegated Rajah kept true to their attacking ethos. The fans dreaded waiting for the first goal, but Bögengang spared them that as he leapt highest to spear Rotteveel's corner kick past Dutch goalie Milan Straal in the eighth minute.
The celebrations were tempered by the knowledge that they still needed results in other matches to go their way, and further reduced as Rajah assembled a run of meaningful attacks.
Ronny Behr appeared shattered when the referee pointed to the spot after he held Lee Wai Guang back in the box, and Ignacio Belmonte sidefooted it casually into the bottom corner to level.
The initiative stayed with Rajah, and it was only due to a combination of class defending and inspired goalkeeping that kept Grilled afloat. Dutch winger Danny Plasterk might have deflated the Birds when he blazed down the left to confront Valdir, only for the Brazilian goalie to throw out a palm to deny him.
Rotteveel was back to his best in patches, and the crowd caught a glimpse of his impressive acceleration in the 41st minute as he darted past the 37 year-old Jacob Bjørn. While in truth it doesn't take much to get by the slow-turning Dane, it was considerably harder to spy a passing route to Mohd Safri at the same time, and this Rotteveel did; Mohd Safri responded with a calm finish.
The Birds had barely finished congratulating their young striker when Rajah XI mounted a full-scale assault, which ended with Rafał Waczyński placing himself well to receive and polish off a through ball. That was it for the half, and with no goals in the Holy Satans-Champloo FC tie, Grilled's outlook appeared dim.
It was down to Rotteveel to make a breakthrough for the third time, and with his 54th minute volley in off Dorogan's tantalizing chip, the Dutchman also claimed sole ownership of Grilled's top league scorer record, with 105 goals in nine seasons.
Rajah XI's defending was not quite up to the standard of their attack, and they found themselves troubled whenever Grilled got them on the back foot.
Ciro Penati darted through in the 64th minute and planted a cross that Bögengang met firmly with his crown, for his second headed goal of the night.
Lee Wai Guang answered in the 69th minute, but the Rajah forward might have been confused to hear the loudest cheers of the night break out at his goal. The explanation was simple, however, as Holy Satans had taken the lead against Champloo over at The Hell through Zeng Wan Ho.
Grilled's players knew well the significance of that, and they raised their game to ensure that they kept their side of the equation. Bögengang made sure of that when he scored after being put through by Han Kok in the final minutes, and Champloo were out after they failed to find the goal they needed.
