The Lions 6 - 0 Grilled
The crowd of 50386 turning up at
Merlion Park today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain.
Samuel Missanga was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Sancho García and
Ronnie Wella. While a boggy pitch like this was an advantage for physical players, it really didn't help those who relied on speed or technique. The Lions fielded:
Zariņš -
Cuculov,
Azulão -
Căruntu,
Al-Fazary,
Holtzem,
Schaul,
Bartolazzo -
Holoubek,
Yalán,
Khasawneh.
Grilled's lineup was:
Germanakos -
Panigrahi,
Hutter -
Ferzan,
Kwang Tse,
Keng Chuan,
An Keng,
Baena -
Mohammad Harun,
Ze Han,
Xin Seng.
As the teams spread out over the pitch, it became clear that they would both be using a 2-5-3 formation today. Grilled seemed to prefer attacking in the middle, taking advantage of their titanic (15) level with that tactic. They were singing the praises of
Saad Khasawneh 6 minutes into the match after his speculative chip from the middle of the penalty box found its way over the visitors' keeper to make the score 1 - 0 to The Lions. After 8 minutes a well-practised indirect free kick routine by Grilled was easily anticipated by the defenders. The players forward were so well marked, they were left with few viable options. The Lions's
Mircea-Sorin Căruntu was shown a yellow card after 22 minutes for slicing down an opponent.
A speedy charge from the left side of the field increased the lead of The Lions to 2 - 0 as
Adaílton Azulão finished it off competently, firing in from an acute angle. It was 2 - 0 at the break. The Lions enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 55 percent of possession.
Moey Xin Seng would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise.
Kalki Parvathaneni entered the game for Grilled as the match clock showed 70 minutes. After 71 minutes,
Erik Holoubek put The Lions ahead 3 - 0 when he rose to head in a cross from the right wing. With 75 minutes played,
Chia Kwang Tse of Grilled fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. After 77 minutes, the away team failed to deal with a good exchange of passes on the right, and
Mazin Nabil Al-Fazary gave the The Lions supporters even more to cheer about when he increased the lead to 4 - 0. After 80 minutes, the Grilled coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving
Bhavya Panigrahi off the field.
Gilbert Webb took his place. The Lions's
Mazin Nabil Al-Fazary increased the lead to 5 - 0, after he saw his shot go between the legs of the advancing goalkeeper following some good play down the right wing after 82 minutes. As the 89 minute mark approached, the The Lions coach decided it was time for a substitution.
Adaílton Azulão reluctantly made way for
Pierre-Charles Tournebize on the pitch. 89 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a The Lions substitution.
Massimo Branchitta came on for
Doncho Cuculov. 89 minutes into the game, The Lions wanted to bring some new energy to their game.
Ezequiel Bartolazzo gave
Karl Sølvhøj a quick hug as he left the field. It was announced by the referee that he estimated stoppage time to be around 2 minutes. This meant there could still be an extra attack or two left in the match! The Lions increased the lead as
Christian Schaul struck to make the score 6 - 0 after an attack from the left left him unmarked in front of the keeper. The match ends 6 - 0. The Lions had most of the ball, with 55 percent of possession.
The most dominating The Lions player was without a doubt
Leonidas Yalán.
Karl Sølvhøj was a disappointment, however. Grilled's best player was
Chan Ze Han.
Enrique Baena on the other hand, had a terrible day.
