Pandas Passed By
Gleb Stars
Grilled wrested top spot back from heimu XI thanks to timely goals from midfield, as well as a first-class outing from Valdir in goal. In a shock move, Portuguese midfielder
Edvaldo Mourão was thrown into the deep end as he made his competitive debut on the right wing in place of Penati. While his overall performance left something to be desired, the additional heft he provided contributed to the Birds' excellent result.
The star of the show was
Gleb Dorogan, however, as the Moldovan playmaker finally played his way into the hearts of the Grilled fans with one of those career-defining games that comes along once in a blue moon. It was only the second minute when he streaked into the heimu XI penalty area and drove the ball past Dmitry Smaev, laying the ghost of the Russian goalkeeper's superhuman efforts in the reverse fixture to rest.
That goal dispensed with what might have been a tentative opening period, as heimu XI's players immediately strove to regain parity; Sido Leemans was booked for hauling Dorogan down in the fifth minute, but that didn't slow the 26 year-old midfielder at all. He might even have added to his fortieth career goal with a swerving strike from Mourão's diagonal pass, and only Smaev's acrobatics denied him a fairytale outing.
Grilled's ambitions appeared to suffer a serious setback after
Nawaz Talib elbowed Tobies Turu out of nowhere in the 15th minute. The referee had the red card out as he ran over, as the veteran Pakistani defender fruitlessly professed his innocence as Turu rolled about on the pitch. Grilled nearly paid for that within a minute as Zeynel Uraz flashed an effort from the free-kick at the top corner, but Valdir was there to tip it wide.
Most spectators might have expected Grilled to pull some men back and hope to preserve their lead, but no changes were made, and Han Kok and Dorogan instead took turns filling in at left-back as needed. They didn't have to do so for much of the match as Grilled wound up on the attack much of the time despite all odds, and even doubled their lead in the 38th minute with
Matthias Branbilla's excellent solo dribble.
More drama was to come at half-time, as Grilled coach
Han Lik-Tsun not only did not assign a player to the defence, but even blithely replaced
Maikel Rotteveel with
Martin Torsson. This was unexpected and perhaps even reckless, all the more so coming from a former international defender.
Unexpectedly, the Birds continued with their slick passing, and nearly made it three with a wonderful shot from way out that probably should have made for one of the goals of the week, and Smaev's positioning not been so good. The shooter was, again,
Gleb Dorogan, who by this time was playing to the enthralled crowd.
heimu XI were not to be so easily put away, and Grilled were punished in the 67th minute as their lack of numbers finally told. The visitors intelligently worked the ball from side to side to create openings, and Marcello Petracchini bypassed a flat-footed Han Kok with a cheeky backheeled pass. Zhu Aobo applied the finish, chipping Valdir as he came out to close down.
Sensing that a draw or better was now possible, heimu XI upped their game as the Grilled faithful anxiously looked to their coach, but Lik-Tsun remained impassive. Apparently, he trusted in his experienced side to do what was needed, and indeed Han Kok especially was extremely efficient in holding the ball and winding down the clock. This eventually led to Zeynel Uraz lashing out in frustration and getting a yellow card that will see him sit out heimu's next game.
Grilled would endure a mighty scare as Yap Jing Hin magically worked his way past Vukota in the 73rd minute, only for Valdir to block his powerful attempt. heimu XI would continue pressing for the equaliser, but eventually ended up receiving a sucker punch as
Domenik Bögengang struck for the fourth home game in a row.
