Grilled 3 - 1 Singapore
The 59762 spectators at
The Cooking Pot were in for an afternoon of sunshine.
Pantelakis Yialesakis was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Claudio Iallonardi and
Tommi Nuuttinen. It was a sunny day and the Technical players could roll the ball around with ease. Those that had to chase after the ball found the weather less appealing, it especially stymied the game of Powerful and Quick players. The following players had been chosen by Grilled:
Germanakos -
Keng Chuan,
其材 (Qicai) -
Reddy,
Teck Fu,
Kwang Tse,
Khairul,
Trindade -
Thach,
Chitre,
An Keng.
Singapore's lineup was:
Westerlaan -
Averett,
Naik,
Walsh -
Da Kong,
Báthory-Bozó,
Lobashov,
Sáenz Hernández,
Gaudério -
Veerma,
Almeida Magalhães.
The teams had chosen different formations for the match. Home team Grilled Birds went for 2-5-3 while Singapore Red Dragons has decided to play a 3-5-2 lineup. Singapore took the lead 2 minutes into the game, making the score 0 - 1 after some elegant movement down the middle.
Badico Gaudério was the scorer. With the crowd on their feet chanting wildly, some great moves down the right hand side after 12 minutes gave Grilled a wonderful opportunity to level the score, and
Paulino Trindade stepped up to the challenge. 1 - 1 21 minutes in, Grilled's
Aw Keng Chuan received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. They were singing the praises of
Chad Thach 26 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 2 - 1 to Grilled. After 27 minutes, Grilled's
Brian 'Was Born' Reddy surprised everyone as he managed to intercept a pass intended for the opposing keeper and flip it in, making the score 3 - 1.
Artem Lobashov was in no condition to play on. He left the field limping after 38 minutes, with his right thigh bandaged.
Seah Yeng Hock had already been warming up, and came on for
Artem Lobashov. With
Artem Lobashov no longer on the pitch,
Chris Averett became the new set pieces taker. Halftime score was 3 - 1. Grilled enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 55 percent of possession.
After 47 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by
Mohd Marzuki Khairul might have resulted in another goal for Grilled. However,
Tsjitse Westerlaan made a spectacular save. With 49 minutes played,
Gandhik Chitre could have brought this one home for Grilled as he charged up on the left, but his hooked ball went just a bit too high. 63 minutes into the game, Singapore had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to inadequate (5). 89 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Grilled substitution.
Damian Hutter came on for
Aw Keng Chuan.
Aw Keng Chuan was coming off, and had placed his last free kick for the day. That meant that
Brian 'Was Born' Reddy got the chance to showcase his dead ball skills.
Lim An Keng would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise.
Bilal Mohammad Harun entered the game for Grilled as the match clock showed 89 minutes. The referee decided to let play continue for an additional 2 minutes beyond the regular 90 minutes. The match ends 3 - 1. Possession in this half belonged to Grilled, who controlled the ball 58 percent of the time.
Gandhik Chitre performed admirably for Grilled.
Bilal Mohammad Harun was a disappointment, however. Singapore's best player was
Robert Veerma.
Peh 'Predator' Da Kong on the other hand, had a terrible day.
