Stebock Stretch Birds
Gerlach Gaffe
The Birds got a fourth straight win in the World Battle tournament, surely a good omen ahead of a critical four days, against first Bot Team FC in the league, and then Haha in the Singapore Cup final. Newly-promoted Nationalliga A club FC Stebock 13 - who had themselves won the Switzerland Cup a few seasons ago - went for a calm and measured approach here, but lost 2-3 despite taking the lead twice.
Former Swiss national superstar Adrien Lanteri would skipper the team at forward, and although already 35 years of age, he had lost little of the blistering pace that has carried him past many an unwary defender. Strike partner Nedim Schläppi looks poised to carry on in Lanteri's footsteps, if with a very different - and very physical - style. Ukrainian Vasiliy Lependin anchored their midfield, as usual, with a not-entirely unfamiliar face in goal: Li Liang Chi, formerly of Sporting VDF, and who had spent two seasons at Robbie Football Club, before transferring to Stebock for S$25 million, and then winning a national cup with them.
It was Li who denied
Chu Xin Lee in the sixth minute, as the Birds flowed through the middle, and gave the Number Nineteen enough of a look to try a lob. An excellent lob it was too, but not enough to elude the veteran custodian just yet, as he got his fingertips onto it. Even Chu had to admire the awareness and skill involved, as he turned away.
Stebock were hardly pressed except for that lapse, as they raised their conventional 3-5-2 formation to a seldom-seen level. Neither overly defensive or offensive, they made the give-and-take against Grilled's pushiness look graceful, and were only too adept at switching between modes. Lanteri had fallen off to the wing in the 23rd minute to great effect, and he delivered an incredible cross to Alex Pereira after outmuscling
Chan Ze Han, which the Frenchman did justice to; One-nil!
These were difficult times for Grilled, and they were on the verge of being overwhelmed, with
Vikram Mudaliar having to take one for the team in holding up a free-kick. An equalizer from
Chan Ze Han came against the run of play, but the Birds were frankly getting outfought here, particularly in the air; 36 minutes in, Stebock won a corner kick, and Portuguese wingman Augusto Rosa Casimiro handily outjumped
Bhavya Panigrahi at the back post, to make it 2-1.
Things improved for Grilled after that second setback, and the last ten minutes of the half were about the best that they had managed thus far. They went back to basics in their passing, and a splash of additional inventiveness from
Neeraj Muthyala was enough to see
Chu Xin Lee off and away through the middle. Chu dodged centreback Vincenzo Agresta far more smoothly than he had any right to, and planted the ball in at Li Liang Chi's left post, before the goalkeeper could reposition himself properly.
From the looks of it at half-time, this match remained very much in the air, but this would all change a mere six minutes into the second half. Play had been largely jittery up till then, right until
Vikram Mudaliar broke into an off-the-ball run, into the opposition box. Whether Peter Gerlach saw something that others' didn't was a question that only he could answer, as he unhesitatingly sent the forward sprawling, with a lunge at his legs.
Well, this had to be one of the easiest calls referee Benson Cruz had to make in his career, as he sent a barely-protesting Gerlach off, while awarding a bemused Mudaliar the penalty, which Panigrahi duly dispatched. And then, drama - barely three minutes later, a supposed handball at the other end gave Stebock their own spot kick.
Massoud Dob did what Li couldn't however, and deflected Vincenzo Agresta's bluff to the middle, right over the bar. The danger was not yet over, and after some quick congratulations from his teammates, Dob would have to step in to punch the corner clear. Stebock retained possession, but Nedim Schläppi couldn't get his finish on target.
Head coach Henry Böhi was clearly aware that they were in a bad position, being both a goal and a man down, but his options were limited. While he did get Gylfi Lárusson to push up more, Grilled had plenty in reserve too, and
Eren Serpin responded with a double substitution, bringing
Bilal Mohammad Harun and
Wu Jinglong on. As for Lárusson, his increased attacking brought its own issues, and he would have to bring
Chan Ze Han down from behind in the 66th, for which he was booked.
Stebock picked themselves up for that, and might have levelled from Agresta's superb free-kick, only for Dob to just about barely save it. A couple of minutes later, Chan advanced menacingly from the right side, and this time it would be Li who would make the stop. The game was definitely very much undecided, and with fifteen minutes left, Böhi finally made a change: Akram Ghani on, Pereira off.
The Swiss club would have to survive a near-goal from Panigrahi next, as Orell Petignat reached a half-blocked strike only marginally ahead of a pouncing Mudaliar. The final ten minutes would belong to them, though, quite an achievement given that they were playing with only ten men, but other than a yellow card awarded to
Kalki Parvathaneni for a typical striker's tackle, they would not get anything for these efforts.
