Ocean Dragons Doused
Defence Drill
Luxembourg II.1 winners Ocean Dragons, denied promotion days before by Jeunesse renerts in a 0-6 mauling, had it better against the lacklustre Grilled visitors who experimented with a 4-5-1 lineup. Bao-Tam was eager to get back between the posts with Harlow's departure, and rang up a clean sheet with the more than adequate protective cover.
Kek-Tjiang and Siu-Yue were pushed back into central defence, and while the younger man struggled to contain his attacking instincts, Kek-Tjiang patrolled his area with ruthless economy. He wasn't afraid to maraud up either, and bumped past ex-Luxembourg youth international Eric Antoniow in the third minute to bomb one into goal.
Grilled lacked a cutting edge but passed their way out of any trouble in the early exchanges, with Rottman torpedoing a strong header in that Argentinean goalkeeper Juan Gilberto Sosa saved brilliantly. Midfielder Per Liljenman got booked for accusing the referee of selective sight after he was felled by Han Kok, which adversely affected his game.
Terkel Borup ran at a weak spot in the thin Dragons defence to nick an opportune second for Grilled, which was just as well since Spirig was hobbled by a harsh challenge right after stealing the ball from the kick-off. Liljenman came closest to breaking the Dragons' duck when he tested Bao-Tam with a steep header in the last minute of the half, but Bao-Tam was fast as a snake as he went down to stop the ball on the line.
Grilled got more in step as the game wore on, but Dragons had saved their best moves and almost made Grilled's fullbacks look amateurish. Liljenman was once again the man left in the clear, but Bao-Tam didn't blink and took the Swede's blistering drive full in the stomach.
Siu-Yue and Han Kok were guilty of overestimating the height of the Dragons' goalframe as they pelted lobs into the stands, while playmaker Robert Christiansson collected a silly yellow card for shoving Borup after an innocent collision. Wai-Kin was allowed to keep the match ball as Man of the Match despite not scoring, as Grilled ended their season on a high note.
