Addict Blues
Nedo Nicks Two
Tunisian Division Two club Chelsea Addict toned things down as they prepared for likely promotion to the Division Nationale, falling 6-3 to the Birds after a late surge from Grilled's strikers-turned-midfielders. Close to 5000 turned up for the spectacle, which saw regulars
Abdul bin Jantan and
Seytek Djekshenkulov feature.
The first salvos were fired by the home side, as Grilled's younger set strained to distinguish themselves, but maybe for different reasons.
Tang Hengcai, who some have said is on the cusp of entering the first-team rotation, sprayed a wild volley wide in the eleventh minute, while
Mayur Gudivada, who is one of those persuaded to seek a move to further their career, did his prospects no harm with a sneaky free-kick that brushed the crossbar.
The Addicts weren't about to wait any longer, and they responded smartly down the left side. The experienced Nedo Cavallo saw his chance when current Tunisian U-20 superstar Soufiane Yatim tied Grilled's defenders up, and popped in to ram a shot that
Hovaness Noubaryan got a hand to but couldn't stop.
This must have had an effect on Grilled's own youth internationals, and it did not come as a surprise when man of the moment
Chow Ying Lee went it himself, blowing past the Addicts' defenders like they weren't there to level it up. The returning
Seytek Djekshenkulov, eager after ten days without proper football, then rode the wave and volleyed the 2-1 goal, only for Alexis da Marterio to curl a perfect free-kick around the wall to bring an electric four minutes to an end.
There was then some cause for concern when big centre-forward Ulli Marschhaeuser crumpled heavily to the ground after being backed into by
Colby Awyong and lay immobile for some time, but thankfully it transpired that he had just been winded. The action toned down significantly from then till the half-time break.
Against his usual practice, reserve coach Luis Alcántara opted for a triple substitution then, taking Gudivada, Teo and Tang off for
Pompeo Bellamoli,
Hung Wee Li and
Leong Wan Kang. This however messed Grilled's system up somewhat, and Cavallo managed to put Chelsea up for a second time, peeling off his man on the right flank and finding a way past Noubaryan.
Grilled's response was once again prompt, and the equaliser this time came from
Abdul bin Jantan, who has endured a period of poor form and been dropped from the first team as a result. His class still shone through this day, though, and perhaps at no time more than when he made space for himself with a couple of off-the-ball feints to get a free header on
Tian Yonghang's delayed cross.
Seytek might want to watch his behaviour after he was booked for a mean foul, so soon after coming back from suspension, but all that was soon forgotten as
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim warmed up for the heimu match on Sunday with an excellent brace.
Tian Yonghang was not to be left behind, as he scrambled a sixth in from an odd free-kick move, to ensure that confidence would not be a problem on Sunday.
