Tawşan Taken Apart
Back To His Best
İstanbul club tawşan, currently in the third division of the Turkish league, lost by five goals to Grilled in a friendly attended by 4444 at The Cooking Pot.
Erik Back continued his rehabilitation with a goal in each half, as he contributed to the Birds' lopsided possession statistics all through the match.
tawşan's reserves lined up in a conservative 5-4-1, and caught the eye in their away shirt, displaying red flames on lime green. Grilled decided to trot out in their little-used third kit in all black against that, but colours meant little to Back, who pumped a volley home as early as the third minute.
The visitors more or less invited Grilled to retain the ball as they defended deeply, leaving the Birds free to move the ball about midfield.
Tian Yonghang came very close with a bullet header in the 17th minute, before succeeding in the 24th thanks to Safrinho's classy assist.
It was slightly surprising that it remained just 2-0 at the interval, given the number of attempts Grilled made. tawşan goalkeeper Onur Ağır was a big factor in that, with a spectacular block from Josefsson by some distance the standout move of the first half. Robust tackling from their defenders was another reason, with Fahri Sertan picking up a booking for clipping Safrinho early on.
Player-coach
Han Lik-Tsun, being largely untested at the back, didn't look too happy with Grilled's wastefulness in attack, and could be seen shouting at his teammates to push forward with more vigour throughout. He was seen giving instructions to
Edvaldo Mourão as the two came out for the restart, and Mourão responded by taking the ball up at every opportunity.
Grilled soon reaped the rewards, as
Mohd Firdaus bin Yaacob relived his forward days with a snappy finish to extend the lead to 3-0. Back would then score again from the moody
Ciro Penati's cross, before Mourão got the fifth and final goal.
