Bearing Blame
Valdir Deflated
Thrice Grilled asked, and thrice Grilled were denied, as Brazilian goalkeeper
Valdir Dias Paes failed to prevent his club from crashing out of II.4 both in regular time and during the spot kicks.
Their opponents this day were the up-and-coming UT Polar Bears, who had enjoyed top-half finishes in all ten full seasons they have competed in thus far. Clad in their distinctive blue and red, they took to the field before over 80000 flag-waving fans, a rare sight for The Cooking Pot nowadays.
Grilled left Vukota on the bench, and depended on the same eleven that had given it all against Rajah XI last Sunday. They sat deep in a bid to conserve energy, and exceeded their own expectations when they found themselves with an early lead, as S$13.5 million Serbian goalie Dragan Zorić could only tip
Domenik Bögengang's strange lob into his own net.
All Grilled had to do was to keep the Bears out, but this was easier said than done as the visitors monopolised possession. Uncompromising tackling meant yellow cards for Mohd Safri and Nils Broenner-Wedel, before the Bears won a free-kick by the side of the penalty area after Árva tripped Evia.
There was no direct danger, but French midfielder Damien Petit hit the ball across to Noreno Blanco as the entire Grilled defence withdrew in anticipation of a cross. Blanco brought the ball in and threaded the needle with his precise effort to the far corner.
There was still time in the half, and Ciro Penalti marked his hundredth competitive start with another productive stint down the flanks. Switching at will, he exploited the empty space behind Blanco in the 41st minute and ripped a challenging pass to Rotteveel. The Dutchman killed the ball expertly with his first touch and volleyed it in, to delight from the stands.
Again in the driving seat, Grilled attempted to calm the match down, a move which was seen by Bears head coach Giorgio Patruno. The Italian began making changes from the sidelines, waving Blanco further up and replacing Mollard with Patricio Vélez on the hour.
Clearly Patruno did no harm as the Bears thrived on Vélez's improved distribution, and Blanco was once more involved as he raced onto a breaking ball sent from the middle. Grilled's defence were fully occupied when Georg Zach called for it, and the Austrian eventually put the ball just past Valdir.
Valdir did pull off some good blocks as the Bears went for the jugular, and Grilled appeared to have stolen the win as the ever-dependable Rotteveel surged through their back four and laid one on a platter for Bögengang. Such hopes were swiftly dashed, sadly, as the unrattled opponents created another goal from a free-kick, with Manuel Evia getting on the scoresheet.
Han Kok joined Branbilla in the referee's book as the overrun midfield resorted to dirty tricks, while the visitors' Patrik Anderholt went for broke with a dive in the 86th minute after slight contact with Behr, a move which did not amuse the referee.
Extra time was more of the same, as
Gleb Dorogan threatening to make himself a hero with a thunderbolt out of the blue that skipped inches wide, and more than a few heartbeats. Anderholt then employed legitimate means to wriggle free of Talib and get a boot to the ball just five metres in front of the Grilled goalmouth, but Valdir got a leg to it.
It was penalties, then, and Rotteveel scored easily, only for Petit to send Valdir the wrong way. Things began falling apart for Grilled when Bögengang lost his nerve and missed. The Bears were simply too consistent, and after Zorić saved brilliantly from Grilled's final penalty, taken by Quah, it was curtains for the Birds.
