Grilled 0 - 5 Storm*
scorching day at The Cooking Pot, where 4729 spectators were in place for today's match.
Gian Carlo Sabbioni was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Guy Schmittbuhl and
Björn Hjertby. A 2-5-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Grilled. The following players had been chosen: Noubaryan - Bakhtiar, Awyong - Gudivada, Yong Yau, Khairul Akmal, Adabala, Wee Li - Azhari, Da Teck, 恒才 (Hengcai).
Storm* started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: Egetenmeier - Lehman, Kavazis, Diaz Ailan - Stefanou, Üye, Godmar, Kodinov, Ganchev - Ellinas, Pallikaridis.
The left side created an opportunity for the visitors 6 minutes into the match, and
Georgi Kodinov wasn't about to let it go by. He got past the defenders and fired a shot that the keeper just missed. 0 - 1 for the visitors.
Hilal Bakhtiar still has a lot to learn. For instance, he should know not to make half-hearted passes in front of
Giorgos Ellinas, who easily scored for Storm*, making it 0 - 2. After 11 minutes, Storm* were awarded a free kick. Rather than shooting straight at goal, the taker went for an indirect variant which seemed to take his team mates a bit by surprise.
Nestoras Pallikaridis did attempt a finish, but from an awkward position, sending the ball into the away fans. With 20 minutes played, a phenomenal play on the left side freed
Adam Lehman, of Storm*, to dash through and score another goal for the visitors. The score was then 0 - 3. By now, the players in Storm* felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. It was 0 - 3 at the break. Storm* held the ball, with a clear 58 percent of possession.
The away team's
Giorgos Ellinas took advantage of a mistake on the home side's right after 52 minutes which increased Storm*'s lead to 0 - 4. A drive on the left side allowed Storm*'s
Tobias Godmar to get in close and score a goal after 57 minutes, leading to 0 - 5. Storm*'s
Giorgos Ellinas got himself booked for a foul. Intentions were certainly good, but the Storm* indirect free kick combination after 68 minutes was easily anticipated by the defenders. That was a textbook example of how to defend a free kick - the attackers were left with few viable options. The heat made it a terrible day for
Giorgos Ellinas, who seemed unable to keep up with the other players. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, Grilled's
Hilal Bakhtiar was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 87 minutes.
Alex Fonseca was given a chance to change things around. The Grilled captaincy was handed to
Alex Fonseca. Grilled needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 88 minutes
Hovaness Noubaryan made way for
Alvaro Silvera. The bench was restless, and with 88 minutes passed Grilled's coach gave
Walter Ross the opportunity the player had been hoping for.
Colby Awyong reluctantly left the field. The forty-five minutes were dominated by Storm*, with an impressive 52 percent possession of the ball.
The most dominating Grilled player was without a doubt
Walter Ross.
Alvaro Silvera turned in a dismal performance, however.
Nestoras Pallikaridis performed admirably for Storm*.
Mathieu Egetenmeier was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 5.
