Spiralling Into Space
Hwang Heads Up
Space Faroe might have been in existence for merely a single full season, but head coach Bjartur á Miðgerði had forged the Hattrick Anniversary League club into a title-winning unit, ably led today by sprightly 21 year-old Czech playmaker Filip Dubovský. The Birds would actually make it to extra time on the back of a brace second-half rally, but the actual extended minutes would exert a heavy toll, as before.
Tian Yonghang would raise some eyebrows with his choice of lineup, as
Mohd Marzuki Khairul,
Lim An Keng and
Enrique Baena started again, having already featured in the league. Tian did mix things up elsewise, with the usual assortment of second-stringers, captained by
Atang Mangoye at left forward. Mangoye threw himself gamely at the Faroese lines in the opening exchanges, and had a moment in the tenth minute when Baena rolled one down the channel - but that shot would drift harmlessly wide.
Radovan Jaška was working hard too, but the tide soon turned against the Birds, as Dubovský's graft began to pay off in midfield. He would make his way past the attentions of Khairul in the 18th minute, in a move that had John Rúnason also cross over to the inside, and start running at the defence. Dubovský played his pass just right for Rúnason to take it in his stride right before
Mohsen El Khateeb's tackle came in, and
Cameron Law should have done better on the accurate but weak grounder that came in.
It would be 2-0 by the 29th minute, and Law could not be faulted on this, as Uruguayan forward Tomás Dall orso nicked a header barely on Rúnason's cross as Hwang got in his way, only to watch as
Chirag Thevar backed unwittingly into it, redirecting it past the correctly-positioned goalkeeper. That was unfortunate for the Birds, but a good sign for Hwang, who had anticipated the attack, but was unfortunately unable to fully mitigate it.
The match then quietened down until the second half, which saw
Chia Kwang Tse arrive for the undistinguished Lim Ah Keng, who had not been making much headway against the debuting Danjal Pauli Isfeld. Chia switched it up a bit, but it was probably Isfeld's lack of self-pacing that allowed him into the game, more than any personal skill. Miðgerði would duly shift his 3-4-3 into a 4-3-3 to better protect his team's lead, with Sigurd Limberg falling back from midfield to leftback, and Frímundur Dahl moving across to rightback.
Space Faroe were indeed getting hassled quite a bit, and no sooner had the tactical changes been made, when Dubovský got himself booked for a late takedown of Khairul. His resulting reticence would play very well for Grilled, and
Yee Jian Hui would be able to reduce a mere four minutes later, as the hosts discovered that allowing the Birds to shoot from outside, was perhaps not a permanent solution.
Well, Yee would get his own yellow card soon enough, as he lashed out in frustration after a decision - a clearly correct one at that - went against him, in his eagerness to press the advantage. Grilled would keep the wind behind themselves, though, and after several consecutive corners entering the 70th minute,
Mohsen El Khateeb looked set to score but for Henry Davidsen's near-impossible stop. Sadly for the goalie,
Enrique Baena had his wits about him, and improvised a touch with his heel that had Grilled draw level at 2-2.
Tian Yonghang saw the moment, and the veteran pair of
José Luiz Velho and
Prokop Mottl were sent into the fray, to try and tie it up in the final twenty minutes. This seemed plausible enough too as an inspired Yee thrashed an impressive flier at the top corner in the 73rd, only for Sakir Lindenskov to nearly poach it on the counter within seconds. Dubovský then went it himself from the left corner of the Grilled penalty area, but sent his own ambitious lob a yard high.
Extra time it would be then, and while Grilled appeared to have the fresher legs on aggregate, what with Velho and Mottl just on, the rest of their side would reveal a distinct lack of stamina. Still, Birds diehards might claim that young Romanian referee Dinu Puie had decided the game against them, when he awarded a penalty for a supposed push on Aleksander Ziemiański in the box. This was barely noticeable even on the slowed replay, but 19 year-old Frímundur Dahl didn't seem to care, as he coolly inserted it in at the left bottom corner.
The Birds felt wronged by how they burst forward at the restart, and a couple minutes of sustained pressure would have Mottl and then
Enrique Baena send strikes towards Davidsen, though neither seriously threatened the custodian. That left their own backyard increasingly bare, however, and first Tobias Müssig and then Sigurd Limberg would capitalize, to knock Grilled out by the 109th.
