Peiki Drag It Out
Rinor Roundabout
Grilled made it to the final four of The Global Trophy with an extra-time win against Scotland's Peiki Club Fc, after claiming the lead for the first time in the match with 115 minutes on the clock. The ardently-contested duel saw seven different scorers strut their stuff, as Peiki fully immersed themselves in a daunting active counterpunching gameplan, and it came ever so close to eliminating the Birds - but not quite.
Riding on the crest of six victories in all settings the past fortnight, including a morale-boosting 3-1 against Scottish power over the weekend, the Scots side were well-placed to test the Birds. Point man Michael MacMahon facilitated multiple offensive tacks, allowing both the long ball game as well as quick passing combinations, with Spaniard Bichr Fegurouch only too eager to try the latter.
All in all, it would be a stern trial for Grilled's
Hoàng Trung Quá, who continues seeking his official debut, since arriving two weeks ago. Otherwise, it was a fairly positive lineup from them, with
Wong Ping Shun and
Low Aik Jia restored to the wings.
Gennady Dvorak was the most conspicious absence, with
Clément Meyer preferred to him in a play towards securing the central area.
In general, Grilled got what they came for, but Peiki were not overly upset at yielding possession either. The pros and cons of this state of affairs was illustrated after thirteen minutes, as
Low Aik Jia produced the first real chance of the match.
Ang Leong Kum would put the final touch on the drive, but former Moroccan national goalie Labib Ennahrawi would force him aside, and the prompt riposte had MacMahon only barely put off his finish by a scrambling
Yuki Irie.
Peiki would then claim the upper hand, as playmaker Maurice Young bossed it in midfield for a period. Showing a fine appreciation of the nuances of controlling the pace for a twenty-three year-old, Young strung the far more experienced Grilled engine room along for some minutes, before angling a reverse pass inside for Axel Haastrup, who was quick on the uptake.
Wong Tian Han was out in a flash, but Haastrup flipped it between his raised arms, for a snazzy opener.
Grilled were not finding much purchase on Peiki's dynamic defensive system, with their gamble of an extremely high line paying off more often than not. Yan Genart's speed as he plugged holes flexibly saw Grilled's forwards frustrated, until
Wong Ping Shun caught a break and mowed his way down the right in the 32nd. Ennahrawi blocked as Wong let the ball run just a bit too far ahead, but
Clément Meyer would get to the loose ball and equalise.
Fegurouch would then draw Wong out for an ice-cool coup four minutes before the break, but the Birds would again answer in kind. Two minutes after the restart, Hoàng found himself in an unfamiliar position following a cleared corner, but his improvisation saw him free on the outside left of Peiki's six-yard box, where he brute-forced his strike in off Ennahrawi's gloves.
The Vietnamese defender definitely loved that one, but he would be back doing his usual duties shortly, struggling with MacMahon's physicality. Peiki appeared rather more cautious after conceding this one, as they began to sit back into a more conventional counterattacking stance.
Low Aik Jia had several goes at breaking them down with pace, but found his equals in Genart and Eikema in that dimension.
Peiki emerged from Grilled's pushes unscathed except for a booking for Genart, and the Birds for their part were content to leave it to extra time. Dvorak, who had gotten off the bench to warm up at least twice in the second half, had to be disappointed as
Djan Bacelar held his entrance up. Peiki head coach Alvarino Mendes likewise toyed with changes, only to stay the course.
Mendes looked to have gotten the better of this one, as Peiki were noticeably the more energetic side after the ninety. Nevertheless, the first period was exceedingly dull, but it all came alive after Grilled kicked off for the last time; a lightning raid saw
Tian Yonghang stretch for an impossible-seeming header, only to see it bounce off the underside of the bar. An all-out scramble saw Peiki somehow pump it deep into the other half, where Logan Duke had the good fortune to be.
Having taken what would soon be an insurmountable advantage, Peiki kept on coming, spurred on by skipper Pablo Martínez de Felipe. They would nearly put it beyond Grilled with Cristian Başa's near-miss, coming seconds after a possibly-fatal slip by Hackney, which was enough for Mendes to order his men to stick to defence and see the game out.
Unfortunately, this didn't mesh properly with Peiki's own inclinations, and despite their leaders' best intentions, the team could not help but fall into some confusion. Still, it required something special for the Birds to dig themselves out here, and who else but
Rinor Isufi would come along, flinging himself at an abortive hoof to manufacture a quite unexpected goal on the rebound?
Peiki could hardly believe that, but they would not be given the time to think their approach through, as Isufi retrieved it without breaking step. They would lose it again quickly enough, and although Genart again foiled
Low Aik Jia, the left winger had the last laugh as
Tian Yonghang immediately centered, and
Ang Leong Kum muscled his way inside to give Grilled their first lead.
Mendes would finally make his move at this, as he introduced Zdeněk Moravec and Eddy Rickers, in a desperate gambit. The duo planted himself up top as Peiki sought to bomb their way through, but the Birds responded by lumping it out at every opportunity, and chipping the last few seconds off by dragging their own subs out.