Knuckles Rapped
Subri On Fire
Grilled put eight past their opponents for the second time in a week, as a slumping Rapala NC slipped to their sixth successive league defeat.
Subri bin Ku Zainol collected his first S-League hattrick after coming close twice, once against Herron last week, and against FC RaZer Infernus on the opening day.
The Grilled number nine had scored against Shingen's Marauders too a fortnight ago, and thus it could be argued that simple arithmetical progression decreed that he up his takings to three. That certainly wasn't a bad bet to the spectators at Fisherman's Horizon, as Subri was already two-thirds of the way there before seven minutes had passed.
The hosts were almost criminally negligent at the back as Grilled cut through at will in their seldom-seen alternate kit of full deep blue, and Subri made a mockery of superior numbers when no one took on the responsibility of checking his run in the third minute. Rotteveel assisted him with a square ball that had the loyal Rapalite fans already dreading another loss.
Any optimism the home fans had fell apart when Subri did it again in the sixth minute, though this time it was more due to Han Kok's extraordinary vision than any failing on Rapala's defence. Che Harun bin Ali indeed spotted the through ball but even his long legs didn't manage to stop the crisp ball, while Subri's excellent control on the other end gave him ample time to place another past Badrul Afzan bin Jaafar in goal.
The goals were always going to flow against a side that had always adopted a "score more" philosophy, and that had shipped an average of seven each match in their latest five S-League matches. The loss of speedy Brazilian wingback Jairo Toledo to a freak knee injury put them into even more trouble, and just a minute later Rotteveel won a penalty kick after tricking his marker with a change of pace. Sid positioned it in at the right end to give Grilled a commanding lead.
Sid would get a second from open play when the hugely impressive Han Kok again picked out a run from over thirty metres, though Sid too displayed good initiative to take the shot early with his weaker foot.
Rotteveel ended a three-game barren patch on the hour through a tasty knockdown by Subri, before the hosts enjoyed their best period of the game. Always dangerous on the wings, ex-Chinatown United man Mohd Amran bin Taufek juggled his way past
Fabian Bona before hitting a great cross to Che Harun bin Ali, who had travelled a long way from his usual position. Lik-Tsun was beaten in the air, but Sulaiman clawed Che's header out for a corner.
Grilled will probably spend some time on defending aerial balls next week, as ex-Singapore international youth winger He Wei Quo was virtually unopposed when he dashed for the corner. Sulaiman had no chance this time as He had the whole goal to aim at from five metres out.
Subri then belatedly completed his anticipated hattrick after missing a couple of half-chances, thanks to Rapala's defence overplaying the ball in their own area. He Wei Quo, a feisty fighter if there ever was one, then got a yellow card after stopping Jie Siong's advance with his hands.
Han Lik-Tsun got his third league goal with the sort of powerful drive that defenders are often known for scoring from, before Rotteveel got the last touch on Jie Siong's hard work on the left to cap Grilled's biggest S-League victory, and biggest league victory for sixteen seasons.