L'auberge Left Late
Mostly Mtangi
A 102th minute goal from Tanzanian No. 16 international winger Shadrack Mtangi was the difference between Luxembourg Division Two club L'auberge espagnole and the Birds, as they lumbered to a hundred minutes of energetic but ultimately fruitless football at The Cooking Pot.
The first half was uneventful even by the low standards of the match, with the only time that the ball passed within ten metres of a goal being when
Wardi Azhari brushed
Fan Xiuyu's in the general direction of L'auberge custodian Joé Kuffer. Although the visitors controlled play quite effeciently, their lone Dutch forward Chris Nauta was painfully isolated, and with the exception of Mtangi, his colleagues were often slow to get into good positions even as he held up the ball well.
Li Boon Boon came on for a disappointed Azhari for the second half, and the action began to kick up a notch after
Walter Ross clattered hard into Mtangi and earned a yellow card. L'auberge followed suit, putting Bulgarian old head Emil Ivanov on for the barely-tested Mickaël Lerch in defence, and then brought Chris Nauta on after Grilled exchanged
Mayur Gudivada for a worn-out
Krishnan Adabala, who had given a good account of himself despite being outnumbered in midfield. A hit on the leg by Stéphane Gosset was the last straw for Adabala, who had been coping before that.
Gudivada took his time to get into the thick of things, and nearly let the game slip when he gave away a free-kick just outside the Grilled area. Luckily, nothing came of that, as did Nauta's decent effort entering from the left side. The Birds then made their last change, finally handing
Teo Yong Yau his debut after the homegrown youngster had found his way onto the bench last week, on for the knackered Stanca. Unfortunately, he would have to function in a ten-man team, as
Walter Ross copped his second yellow card the very next minute.
The visitors lost Stéphane Gosset in extra time through injury, but that did not affect their rhythm, and Israeli midfielder Omer Tishbi nearly killed the match off minutes later, with Silvera barely reaching the through ball first by putting his body on the line. There was no denying Mtangi's mighty left-footed hammerblow that bulged the inside side netting, though.
