Kolhy Kicked
Strikers Snap
Grilled didn't cover themselves in glory on their first ever trip to Cuba, as although they did beat Division Two side Kolhy F.C by three goals to one, it involved injuries inflicted to two of the hosts' players.
Tian Yonghang, who has had an exceptional campaign thus far, was the worst culprit with a two-footed lunge on Peruvian forward Román Taipe after the ball had long gone.
It was a wet day at Almendares Park, situated in the middle of Havana, but that was literally manna from heaven to the strongly-built
Fan Xiuyu, who had on a new pair of wet weather studs. They certainly worked well as Fan charged about with abandon, and it was his ceaseless pressing that forced the Kolhy defence to give up a free-kick, from which
Yvan Lefébure converted.
Xiuyu's physical emphasis had a darker edge to it, with him not pulling out of a collision with Polish centreback Edmund Stachowiak, though both did have their eyes firmly fixed on the ball. Referee Dong Yingduan hesitated in dishing out the yellow for what looked like a fifty-fifty challenge, but eventually acceded to the entreaties of Stachowiak's colleagues, and booked Xiuyu as the youngster was helped off.
The silver lining was that seventeen year-old Cuban prodigy Estewart Valverde could now grace the pitch as a substitute, having already won one full national and four U-20 caps. It was evident that he is still far from the finished article, however, given how Lefébure wrongfooted him with a sharp turn and raced on to smash a second goal home in the 34th minute.
Former ArseVikings forward
Li Boon Boon would continue his fabulous strike record in friendlies by chipping in a few minutes later, making it three in his two matches for Grilled. The home support never wavered, to Kolhy's credit, and there was a hearty roar as Taipe put together their first strike on target in the 39th minute, and a very good one it was too; his countryman
Alvaro Silvera barely saved it with a full-length dive.
With the job done, Grilled made a triple substitution for the second half, with Josefsson, Olsson and Stanca replacing Mourão, Ross and Vukota. The drop in defensive quality was quickly apparent, with nobody tracking back when Slovenian midfielder Timotej Kamničar streaked free down the middle despite Madaini having pushed up from his post. Silvera tried to close him down, but was caught out by an early passed shot.
The match was beginning to warm up when Yonghang left his studs in Taipe in a stereotypical forward's tackle, and walked without being told after seeing the damage he had done. The restive crowd was stirred further when Madaini cut Cravero down untidily ten minutes before the end, but a quick handshake proferred and accepted prevented things from getting really ugly.
