Mental Endurance
Joost Did It
Palestine III.7 winners amygdala sc walked right into a heavy downpour for their visit to The Cooking Pot, but that didn't keep the Gaza club from taking Grilled to extra time, and then taking them out besides. Granted, it was hardly the best defence that the Birds had to offer, what with
Aw Keng Chuan given some deserved time off, but it also reminded the youngsters in particular that they could do with yet more tenacity, in their approach to the beautiful game.
amygdala's most-famous player to come might have been former Romanian youth international forward Nestor Fetescu, but it would be 24 year-old Chilean Casimiro Joost who had been a much hotter run of form. With eleven goals in the league, he was just one off from getting a share of the Golden Boot for the season. Winger Rupert Ye had managed that, but the Austrian would not appear off the bench today, as Malek Moustapha was left to struggle on the left.
It was not as if amygdala needed much additional help to befuddle this Grilled lineup, with captain Sam Qasem Abbasi in his element, and asking all the questions from the other wing, against the under-the-weather
Damian Hutter. Italian midfielder Maurizio Pati would be his partner in crime in the twelfth minute, with
Lim An Keng sloshing ineffectually in trying and failing to cut out the final ball. Pati didn't look especially graceful in executing the strike, but it would be 1-0 to amygdala.
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan would have better luck down the other flank, with a great delivery leaving
Joe Reece to equalize with a bullet header dipping below Paolino Puggioni, but Ferzan would be defensively suspect in not tracking Moustapha in the 26th minute. This severely underestimated the veteran, who staked out just the right spot for an easy finish. The visitors got a third in the very next minute besides, as Casimiro Joost unleashed from the edge of the box, and
Dimitris Germanakos' full-stretch dive brought him nowhere close enough.
The Birds' midfield could not be accused of being lazy, at least, with Lim,
Mohd Marzuki Khairul and
Chad Thach all putting in the legwork, if with all that running probably being less effective due to the heavy pitch. Thach did get himself into shooting positions semi-regularly, with a fine effort in the 34th sadly flighted straight at Puggioni. He would do better three minutes after the restart, with an excellent first touch on the sprint taking him past Teemu Aarnio, for 2-3.
Chan Ze Han then let the fans down for once, as the Grilled skipper finally had his stinker; unable to conjure much up in the first half, he would be the recepient of a wonderpass up the left channel by
Federico Parada in the 54th minute - only to slip and send the finish well wide, after drawing the goalkeeper out. The supporters were prepared to be forgiving, however, given how deadly Chan had been throughout the regular season.
Chan would get new partners soon enough, as
Orest Tokarz and
Ibnou Balde entered for
Teo Chuan Yong and
Joe Reece, to freshen up Grilled's attack. This would yield immediate dividends, with Parada getting the better of Abbasi by taking his cross early. The angle should have made it hard for Grilled's attackers, but the rest of amygdala's backline weren't watching for it either, and
Mohd Marzuki Khairul would be able to get onto the end of it, chesting it down before powering it into the net for three-all.
Grilled should really have gone on to seize the lead as Ferzan had his chance with Parada continuing with his barrage from the right, but the Turkish winger hurried his shot slightly wide. A couple of big opportunities were left in regular time, beginning with Joost's strong drive in the 67th minute that
Dimitris Germanakos barely scrambled aside, and Marzuki's arcing header four minutes on, that had Puggioni worried for a second. Neither came off, however, and it would be extra time with
Atang Mangoye off for
Gilbert Webb.
As it turned out, one-and-a-half hours of action on a muddy field was not particularly conducive to good football, and more and more passes would go astray, as the turf condition deteriorated further. Casimiro Joost made the most of it 112 minutes in, though, as he fought his way past a defensive block, to score what would be the decisive goal. Pietro Derosi and Nestor Fetescu would then get themselves booked in safeguarding amygdala's lead, but that would be enough to hold it.
