Chump Blocking
Gulpen Goal
Ten of Grilled's provisional first XI stepped out at The Cooking Pot to face ChAmPzz, but some of their hearts clearly weren't in it as they simply took the punishment and ate two second-half goals from the opponents.
Lee Jie Siong was the only second-teamer to be chosen, but he was indistinguishable from his more illustrious counterparts as he put his soul into making the most of his start. Siu-Yue and Kek-Tjiang appeared a pale reflection of their usual selves, and shied away from the tougher challenges.
ChAmPzz's possession football frustrated the home fans, who began calling out for more action. The whistling ended quickly enough after Jiang Yah-Lin sidestepped Jie Siong's bodycheck and sent a stinger whizzing across Sulaiman's crossbar. Grilled were just not seeing enough of the ball to sustain any serious offensive.
Nothing else remotely like a goal occurred, but Grilled were probably the happier team to enter the tunnel. They weren't making any real headway, and thought Martinsson and Wai-Kin got quite a bit of the ball, they could only return it to midfield or lose it.
Still, Grilled looked good for a null draw when ChAmPzz seized the initiative. Dutch winger Koen Gulpen completed a move he began by tearing down the left flank, as Hägerflod's feather-like assist sought him out before Sulaiman could react. With time on his side, Gulpen calmly knocked the ball in at the near post.
Hägerflod and Swedish defender Rihards Bleidelis could have sent ChAmPzz riding into the sunset as they had great opportunities to double or even triple the lead, and only outstanding goalkeeping saved Grilled from total embarrassment. Sulaiman touched Hägerflod's well-hit volley over the bar, and bravely held on to Bleidelis' header as strikers and defenders went tumbling over him.
It didn't change the big picture, as Mohd Firdaus bin Mat Jusoh came in from central defence to pump home a second goal for the visitors after 66 minutes. Grilled were content with defending thereafter, and keeping spirits reasonably high for the Cup challenge.
