Ejekat At The End
Chitre Decider
Nicaraguan II.4 challengers RCD Ejekat would be put down for good in injury time after coming back thrice, a development that should gain them some sympathy from all but the most hard-hearted of neutrals.
Gandhik Chitre was the one to tilt it towards the Birds with literally seconds on the clock, in a testament to his iron-clad mentality.
RCD Ejekat were no strangers to a winning attitude either, that said, being the only official affiliates of two-time Spanish Primera champions Eliansito FC. Now in their fifth season in the second division, they are making a serious push for the Nicaraguan top flight, led by young Spanish boss Raimund Obstfelder. The departure of former Thai national youth fullback Rachan Jaroenprasert to Switzerland's FC Supernova might not have pleased the fans, but this enabled the purchase of veteran São Tomé e Príncipe playmaker António Mateus Krus, who would start in the middle of a five-man backline today.
24 year-old Spanish right winger Delfín 'Ferrus' Durán - with 21 caps for the La Roja U-20 - would skipper Ejekat, with a view towards supplying forwards Sylvain Jacquemin and Klas Sauer. As their 3-5-2 suggested, though, their top priority would be defence, which however would be something of a toss-up. While Ejekat's backline had no obvious weaknessed, giving up the advantage to the likes of Grilled's midfield was something not many clubs can afford with impunity, and
Chia Kwang Tse charged headlong to fire past Jules Séverin in the sixteenth minute.
Ejekat certainly operated better when they had the ball than without it, as realized by many of their players, and they would consciously start holding it - if in their own half - more often. Although Durán's main concern had been tracking
Hwang Teck Fu, he would be deadly when curling them in from out wide, and a 21st minute cross fell nicely for Lou Caro's solid half-volley.
Dimitris Germanakos threw himself at the ball, but was inches away from getting a glove to it.
The tempo was only starting to pick up, and Hwang would be next to get a breakthrough, as Grilled found joy in a direct approach. Consecutive misses from
Chan Ze Han and
Gandhik Chitre would spark a sharp Ejekat counter that had Roberto González slice it wide, but they would get a second go on
Lim An Keng's miss in the 33rd minute. The goal kick was a monster, and Valerio Roade equalized from an unselfish assist by Klas Sauer, who had drifted to the left in anticipation.
Grilled were dominating possession with over seventy percent of the ball in the first half, a pattern which would continue into the next;
Lim An Keng would be especially active in the early going, but it just wasn't his day, as he beaned the post with Séverin beaten, just two minutes after the restart. Ejekat were getting pulled out of position quite frequently, and after Jacquemin's stiff header from a free-kick got cleared off the goalline,
Chia Kwang Tse made it 3-2 as
Brian Reddy rushed the right wing.
That was about Sylvain Jacquemin's last major contribution as he was taken off for Cambodian striker Sovanna Luu in the 65th minute, to which
Tian Yonghang responded with a double substitute soon after. Hwang and
Ha Qicai would make way for
Paulino Trindade and
Hong Kang Leong, which would however backfire somewhat. While Hong's composure could not be faulted, his recovery speed definitely left much room for improvement, as he failed to keep up with Pyry Männistö on the counter following an unlucky
Mohd Marzuki Khairul's drive off the upright.
A draw appeared a fair result as Ejekat withdrew into themselves after this third equalizer, but Grilled were not about to settle just yet. Well into the second and last minute of stoppage time, they launched one last attack with all hands on board, and this saw
Gandhik Chitre facing Séverin alone after a fortunate bounce. The Swiss goalie closed down as fast as he could, but Chitre's right boot was just faster.
