Dalibor Passed Baton
With his announcement made,
Sikong Darong didn't dally about stepping down, as the board officially installed
Dalibor Kostadinović as the new Farmer Bunnies gaffer, first thing on the new working day. Kostadinović's first match in charge will be against Bulgarian fourth division side KarshakaHustlaz in the Heroes of 2014 Trophy tournament, with a friendly hosting German VI.657 visitors Eine Straßenbahn hat mehr Anhänger als Uerdingen upcoming.
Kostadinović praised his predecessor effusively, while underlining that he would be his own man. "Sikong has been a terrific teacher and friend, and I am deeply honoured to be allowed to try and continue his work here with the Bunnies. Not as a photocopy, mind."
The Buns didn't disappoint in their sendoff, as they won their first three tournament rounds without conceding. Granted, G.S. Goriano Sicoli (Italian Division Seven) and They see me kickin', they hatin' (Danish Division Five) both gave away walkovers, but Czech fifth division team tekuté koule would at least have the decency to make an appearance.
Brendan Leung chipped Otmar Kunčický smartly in the 28th minute, and
Sofian Azfar and
Vishnu Tallapaka brought it up to 3-0.
The tekuté koule match was preceded by the Masters-Cup opener against Traktor Luftpumpe, in which Tallapaka converted two first-half penalties. The Buns would then survive the 39th minute sending-off of
Ibrahim Zahran Al-Maashany comfortably enough, and sat pretty on their 3-1 lead.
Kwek Yun Jie nearly managed to steal away in the last minute of regular time, but eventually hit it into the side-netting.
Grilled Birds didn't fare as well after
Florus Romijn was likewise dismissed for a petulant second booking against French fifth division club FC BOURINATOR in the Trophy of Legends, as Swiss winger Christophe Bernot exploited Grilled's now-exposed left flank to the fullest, overturning a 3-2 lead to 3-4. It was a cruel loss for the Birds, after
Cyril Künzler,
Bernie Egan and
Kalki Parvathaneni's excellent strikes.
Before this,
Moey Xin Seng had led Grilled Birds to a 6-2 win in the first round against Spanish Division Five side Kapazillas, whose experienced midfielders Wim Deleu and Thierry Birket worked the hardest - and scored into the bargain. A 5-0 against Danish Division Five Samba Selandia followed with
Chu Xin Lee slotting in nicely for the suspended Romijn; he would round off the scoring in the 58th minute.
Grilled International started their Heroes of 2017 Trophy on a low note, losing 2-5 to Finnish sixth division side Farssi AC despite
Zaini bin Hj Kaling and
Fausto Perono putting them 2-1 up at a point. Farssi skipper Antti Lahtivuori was unanimous Man of the Match, as he took control from central midfield, reaping two goals whilst being involved in everything.
Things would look up after that setback, with
Wang Hanxuan thundering home a hat-trick, in a 6-1 demolition of Italian Division Seven A.C. Los Angeles. Wang would also play an instrumental role with the 3-2 winner against Gloriosi rockets, after
Tommy Dongelmans had set the foundation with a couple of cool finishes.
"We have been clicking better."
Fausto Perono claimed. "Once we get our attack back together, it will be so fun."
