Dread Defence
Behr Hugged
Big English defender
Ronny Behr's second league goal of the season gave Grilled a precious home victory over challengers Edbe FC, which opened a four-point gap between the sides with two matches remaining.
Grilled had a score to settle after tamely losing to the visitors in their meeting earlier this season, and showed they meant business with an all-out 2-5-3 formation, as
Roberto Mausisa was dropped to accommodate
Edvaldo Mourão in his first league start this term. Edbe, who had suffered back-to-back defeats to Arrogancae and newbies, tried a conservative 5-3-2 with the aim of stopping the rot.
The five-man midfield did allow the Birds to hog the ball, but they made little headway against the steely Edbe backline, which converged on any Grilled forward fortunate enough to receive a pass. This went on until the 35th minute, when
Domenik Bögengang appeared to be taken out by a stray knee from Aagaard just inside the penalty area.
The German striker, his colleagues and the majority of the stadium raised their arms in protest, but were ignored by the match officials, who waved play on - Aagaard took full advantage and cleared to Jeelof, who threaded a magnificent ball through to Gilbert Froidevaux. The Swiss footballer swung at it first time and nearly caught Valdir out, and the Grilled keeper was relieved to watch the lob go over off the crossbar.
The match was dull for long stretches, as Grilled were often short on ideas, forgivable given Edbe's commitment to defending. It was telling that one of the highlights of the game was a failed dribble by Lefébure, as the Frenchman was crowded out after beating two players with a startling change of direction.
Head coach
Han Lik-Tsun had seen enough, and threw
Anders Josefsson on for
Kyou-Chull Kim in the 70th minute, but kept
Ciro Penati on the bench, to everyone's surprise. Han's decision would be justified soon enough, as Josefsson supplied the pass that Behr scored from; the defender hit it questionably with the outside of his boot, and looked as astonished as anyone when the ball dipped wickedly after it passed over Xuanjing, and inside the far post.
It was a cruel goal for Edbe to concede, after all their earlier hard work, but they could well have suffered a second grievous blow when Vukota sent a shot flying agonizingly close to their goalmouth a mere two minutes later. That opportunity came after a quick free-kick was taken due to John Ascot's illegal blocking of
Chow Ying Lee in the attacking third.
Edbe FC had their turn in the final moments, as Grilled took things a bit too casually. Yang Ti Kheng struck a decent one from a free-kick of their own after Behr had to take bin Jantan down in the 87th minute, but Valdir kept his concentration and cradled it with ease. Veteran striker Tay Wan Chuan could then have become Edbe's hero as he soared to knock down a desperate Hail Mary ball in the dying seconds, but Valdir was there again to scramble it aside.
