Champagne On Ice
Strikers Do Job
The Birds secured the III.13 title with one game to spare, as they eased to a comfortable two-nil win against a SnowMan side who were without perhaps their best midfielder. The visitors headed into The Cooking Pot with two heavy defeats in their three most recent league games, and Grilled were not about to be generous with so much on the line.
The sixty-seven thousand-odd spectators were expectant, and they did not have long to wait as Grilled got off to a flying start. There were a few quick exchanges before they had warmed their seats, and Mohd Safri drew a collective sharp intake of breath as he shaped up to shoot in a good position, before being charged off the ball.
That turned out not to be a wise move for SnowMan Team, as Grilled's Number Ten claimed the free-kick. To be fair, it was hardly one of Rotteveel's finest as he weakly lifted the ball into the air, only for a defender in the wall to nod it on, wrongfooting Niidumaa in bizarre fashion. They all count, however, as Rotteveel himself would no doubt say, even as he raised his hands in an almost apologetic celebration.
While Rotteveel certainly did not mean that, he fully deserved his assist from a corner kick about ten minutes later as he swung a near-perfect outswinger to the corner of the six-yard box. Bögengang read that well, and the goalkeeper had no chance once the big German threw his entire weight behind his header.
Grilled's representatives had jogged out onto the pitch with nearly five hours of competitive football without conceding behind them, and did not look like giving up that run even as Olsson appeared sluggish at times. SnowMan Team's attempts at counterattacking were further stymied as the hosts were more than willing to sit back on their cushy lead, and Mexican defender Facundo Iturbide got himself a yellow card and a suspension for the final game of the season with a badly timed attempt to win the ball back.
Half-time soon rolled along, and Grilled stepped onto the pitch for the second half without club legends Quah and Rotteveel, who gave way for Mourão and Safrinho. They were clearly under instructions to protect the result, but even then
Ciro Penati managed to pull a couple of decent opportunities out of thin air. Unfortunately, Bögengang's headers were blocked.
Niidumaa even managed to start a quick counter after the second of those, as his monster two-handed throw fell nicely for Li Da Ying as Behr tripped and found himself left behind. Olsson and Branbilla did the best they could in a three-on-two situation, but Riko Kuther still got an open look at Valdir's goal. He put it wide in the end, to the visiting fans' disappointment.
It was then left to the team to play out the final half an hour with as little incident as possible, with the home fans providing a non-stop singathon for the last ten minutes. Valdir would chalk up another clean sheet with no further threats to his goal, and later lift his first trophy as team captain in front of an appreciative audience.
