Gummi Grand
Angel Of Rain
The Birds' second invitation to the Faroe Islands again ended in defeat, as top division side Gummibein persevered and came up with the winning goal at the end of the first period of extra time. As a consolation, Grilled's second-half substitute
Ângelo Cunha Simões was Man of the Match, as he revelled in the difficult conditions with his physical style.
Gummibein were determined to entertain their supporters after finishing last in the Deild, and fielded a fairly good starting eleven at their 87-000 seater Gundadalur. They would have a fight on their hands as Grilled's ranks included a few who were eager to make a case for themselves, as
Anders Josefsson did when he recklessly upended Swiss midfielder Stéphane Raimond in the 17th minute.
Josefsson didn't let the early card get to him, and after Gummibein drew approval with a sweetly taken goal from local youngster Błażej Imiński, the Swede threw some weight around and managed to hold off all comers as Spanish veteran Pablo Checa Rubio mislaid the ball. His chip came off Gummibein's Brazillian Number One Gil Estevão, however, and Estevão managed to push it out for a corner.
Grilled would equalise through transfer-listed
Feng Darong, who doubled up on the suddenly dodgy Rubio by swapping flanks. The Gummibein defence were left looking at each other as Feng seemingly came out of nowhere to latch onto a crisp pass from Mirchev, and Grilled's second-choice winger found a line to the far corner.
The hosts had comfortably more possession, though, and were good value for taking the lead again as star youngster Naddoddur Dahl Clementsen found his keen positional sense rewarded in the 34th minute. The highly-rated teenager, who should have a shout at his U-20 side soon, was left with only Silvera to beat, but put his chip about a metre wide.
Half-time saw
Zheng Lihai, who spent his time trying way too hard, replaced with
Ângelo Cunha Simões, who immediately added a beefy dimension to a slightly edgeless Grilled attack. Fellow Portuguese
Edvaldo Mourão was especially inspired, and upped the ante with a biting tackle that earned him a yellow card; Simões had no need to resort to that, though, as the hosts found no answer to his honest strength.
Sixty-nine minutes, and a lot of pressure from Simões, had gone by when he found countryman Camilo Pessegueiro a step slow on the ball. Simões barged in, took another touch, and firmly sent a medium-height cannon past Estevão to put Grilled in front. Pessegueiro didn't think that he was fairly pushed, however, and exchanged some words with a shrugging Simões.
Gummibein wouldn't stay behind for long, as winger Terji Vørðhamar nipped on to send debutante Áki Glerfoss' short cross over Silvera, a goal which was followed by a drawn-out celebration by the duo, who were drafted into the senior side a week apart.
The home support was beginning to really warm up, and tricky Spanish forward Sandro Wolff, who stands at 215 competitive goals over a long career, had his well-honed instincts egg him into trying to send it over Silvera despite facing sidewards in a poor position, which he duly did. Knut Jensen then nearly scored on the next attack, but didn't, and
Tian Yonghang almost immediately replied with a poacher's goal after Simões knocked down a long hoof from the back.
Extra-time loomed, and Clementsen came within inches of being the matchwinning hero, as he was last week against Scottish side Caledonian Kickers. He displayed superb technical ability despite the field being a right soggy mess after a game's worth of scuffs in the pouring rain, and left Silvera motionless with a splendid dipping free-kick that sounded off the crossbar.
It made little difference, as the completely spent Grilled players were reduced to defending full-time, and Gummibein picked up the inevitable golden goal as Wolff squeezed a half-chance through Silvera's guard.
