Shadow Eclipsed
Exit On High Note
Grilled Birds closed their season in style by fighting off Shadow Chaser FC 4-1 at home, avenging their only league defeat this season way back on opening day. Grilled had little but pride and conceivably autopromotion to play for, having sewn up the league crown with their breathtaking 5-4 win over FC GBR two games ago. In contrast, Shadow Chaser FC could use some points to avoid a relegation qualifier after some unlucky results early in the season left them in fifth place coming into this game.
Grilled Birds unexpectedly fielded their strongest possible lineup at the start, choosing not to conserve anything. It showed when Hjortlind infiltrated Shadow's backline in the ninth minute and turned Tuan-Mu's long pass into the net to start things off. The expectant home fans burst into song on that, but Raskborg nearly silenced them when he appeared to have a clear run on goal soon after. Dewilde earned his pay by dispossessing him just as he was about to take his shot.
Shadow bit back quickly on the flanks whenever they were in possession, and on one such raid Chye Lien-Ying trod on Alcántara's toes when the Argentinean went in for the challenge. Lien-Ying was duly penalised with a yellow card, but Alcántara must have felt that lenient as he was taken off for damage to his toenail. Pakpao was eager to get into the game, and
Zhan Ju-Hau doubled the lead with an unstoppable sprint through the right.
Lan Tuan-Mu was the next to show up Young-chul's deficiencies, though the through-and-through Shadow Chasers player did have little help on his side. Tuan-Mu could have cared less as he built on his reputation as an attacking sweeper by poking the ball past Borglind for an imposing three-nil lead by half-time.
Dan Borglind showcased his reflexes by saving Shadow from a certain fourth goal against them in the 56th minute when he pushed a strong effort from
Ma Dai-Lin back where it came from. He might have yet paid for the decision not to play safe and give away a corner, as Ju-Hau picked up the ball before the Shadow defenders and blasted it right back. Borglind was again in the right place, and this time he held on tightly.
Ma Dai-Lin often was granted acres of space as the attacking Lien-Ying left holes behind him, and in the 73rd minute went it himself instead of releasing a cross. The defenders did not react quickly enough, but Dai-Lin again proved himself no striker as he smashed his shot into the post at five metres. Shortly afterward, Shadow's central defender Davic Eric received a booking for a necessary tackle against Hjortlind. Hjortlind won their next matchup though as he struck his corner such that Kearney only had to jump and knock it down to score. Four up with six minutes to go, Grilled put their foot off the pedal and got a warning when the always-dangerous Ming Hsien-Feng, one time league top scorer while still not twenty, converted his only chance from a Jansson through pass to earn some consolation.
