Dragon's Day
Stern Flatters to Deceive
Grilled subcummbed to the dangerous 3-4-3 formation again, as Bluedragon's flamboyant Spanish midfielder Mercé Delgado del Rincon sealed the win for his side in the middle of the second half. Again, wasted chances were to blame for Grilled. As with the match against Geylang Eagles United, Grilled Birds had the first forty-five minutes totally under their thumb.
Johan Dewilde had the first shot of the game, but he seemed to have lost some of his recent sharpness as he blew Kek-Tjiang's cross. The Grilled bench was on its feet when Hjortlind was held back in the box in the 25th minute, and to their delight the referee awarded a penalty after a short discussion with the assistants.
Joe Stern took responsibility for it, and let the team down when he struck unsteadily, allowing Romanian keeper Sandu Drãghici to parry the shot. Stern hit back with a blistering run through Bluedragon's defence, but again his finishing was a letdown. Grilled did not lack for chances as a couple of other players had their go before the half ended, but Grilled went into the break with nothing to show for their efforts.
Ma Dai-Lin broke the deadlock when he played a one-two with Ju-Hau on the left of the pitch, and even the on-form Ruben Casanova could do nothing to prevent the winger from burying the ball into the net. Grilled's lead lasted all of one minute as defensive midfielder Peter Åhlner received a pass from Edu Irvan playing wide. With Grilled's defenders all engaged, Åhlner levelled with an accurate shot from the side of the six-yard box. Bluedragon's Indonesian international Frangky Manaf added to his dubious reputation against Grilled Birds, being sent off yet again. In the end, his dismissal didn't matter as the experienced Mercé Delgado del Rincon hammered in a goal from close range in the next minute before Bluedragon shut the game down.
