Neno Overtime
Rynowiecki Colossal
Grilled subccumbed 1-4 to Uruguayan II.2 leaders neno fooball clus, starting strongly but fading in the later part as the good-sized partisan crowd of nearly eight thousand screamed their heroes on. fooball made the first serious incursion twenty-two minutes into the match, when club legend and coach Raúl Serra planted the ball right in the middle of the Grilled six-yard box, but Tuan-Mu dove right in and headed the ball well away.
Tim Hobson sent his few faithful supporters into a swoon when he caught Borup's quick pass on the inside of his thigh, then returned it outside to Rottman. Rottman dutifully returned it, and Hobson kicked the ball in with brute force to claim the lead.
Serra got some gasps from the audience when he whirled like a dervish and ripped a flaming shot at goal. Harlow was slow to respond, but thankfully Tuan-Mu was between the ball and goal, and surely must have suffered some bruising when he got his thigh in the way.
The corner was played short and then crossed overhead to the other flank. Alcántara had come inside to help, which gave neno's recent signing Gustav Pettersen time and space. The cheeky teenager chose instead to win his way into the penalty area with a stepover, and set it up for Swiss midfielder Galluccio to finish off.
Grilled's defence went absent in the 49th minute, and S$6.8 million Thai forward Damrong Sawangjit had a free run on Harlow. The goalie narrowed the angles admirably, and Sawangjit had to keep on the ball instead of firing it in. Harlow caught a fistful of both Sawangjit and the ball in his pounce, but the referee saw nothing wrong there.
Hobson's terrier-like intensity got to him when he faced off the equally stubborn Johnny Ståhling at the corner flag, and when Ståhling refused to give up an inch the Englishment lost it and jumped in anyway, a definite booking. Liehner had far less choice at the other end as Serra threatened to slip by, and had to take him down.
The man-of-the-match Korneliusz Rynowiecki, who had badgered Grilled's forwards all afternoon, ventured into Grilled's half for perhaps the first time and ended up firing neno in front. No-one thought the Polish sweeper had such a deft turn in his stocky frame, least of all Tuan-Mu who found himself defending the wrong side.
It still was an open game as
Quah Han Kok found himself staring at a yellow card after what looked like a fifty-fifty challenge on Silverman in the middle. Quah didn't protest, but the Swede spotted Fabián Peluffo on a blindside run. The ball sailed just within Peluffo's reach, and the native winger volleyed it masterfully over Harlow.
It wasn't enough for old Raúl Serra, and the coach sent the visitors packing with a smart light drive to the near post. Harlow got a hand on that, but by then his defence was beyond caring. That didn't matter to the spectators, who feted their two-time league top scorer heavily in a return to days past.
