Holland Deluge
Yonghang Still Raring
Tian Yonghang conjured up a second helping of his five-goal masterclass from last season, as he put semi-pro side FC Holland to the sword with some incredible instinct. Despite being pushed out to the right wing as Luis Alcántara experimented with the squad, there was no one else with quite the same impact as the 33 year-old captain.
With his international career likely at an end following Singapore's elimination from the World Cup qualifiers last month, Tian reaffirmed his commitment to Grilled, and the weight behind those words was soon to be seen. Moving more nimbly than many half his age, he took only four minutes to put the Birds ahead, wedging himself in between Wang Chian-Chiang and Mohd Zan bin Sulog to make his shot.
Having gotten to the second round off a bye from Crissi Tigers, the mostly-retiree FC Holland team were completely unprepared for what was about to hit them. They had counted on exceptional familiarity and economy of movement to win their latest qualification and league matches against HOCKHAI FC and Tanglin Dolphins respectively, but even with team ace Lei Eng-Chong giving his utmost in defence, it was for naught against a certain Number Sixteen.
The hat-trick took just 21 minutes to complete, with Deng Hock-Aun unable to do anything against the precision of Tian's strikes. Both times, it was lofted over a positionally-sound Deng with the barest of warnings off Tian's right boot. Lei too had to throw his arms up in mock exasperation as the third went in off the post, as the Grilled diehards in Holland Emporium bowed exaggeratedly in simulated veneration.
The man himself wasn't stopping at that, and helped himself to a neat bit of misdirection from
Hariharan Prabhu, to secure a fourth in the 33rd minute. The fifteen-minute interval would not spare FC Holland either, as Tian then let rip a thunderbolt from some twenty-five yards, two minutes after the restart. At least Deng nearly got to that one, though it skipped over his arm.
Leong Wan Kang finally got to add some variety to the one-man show in the 52nd, trading a few one-touch passes with old partner
Pompeo Bellamoli. There were then some boos from the crowd as
Remco van der Ban flattened Dong Li-Xue in a bullheaded rush to win a header, which left the 68 year-old former storeowner gasping for air on the grass. Dong recovered admirably quickly for a sexagenarian, fortunately, and Remco didn't protest his inclusion in the referee's book, his name now following
Lee Lee Hao in it.
Most of the FC Holland guys were enjoying themselves, that said, and Shu Kong-Hoi couldn't resist trying some moves on
Zhao Jing Wei, even nutmegging the former S-League and Singapore Cup winner with a flourish, which brought plenty of catcalls from the stands. Of course, Zhao duly won the ball back, and went on to make it 7-0, but judging from the crowd's continued response, they didn't mind.
Colby Awyong then notched up his first goal in three seasons, after a tired Mohd Zan bin Sulog let the ball too far from him, and
Lee Lee Hao closed off the scoring with style. Alcántara then made a double substitution in the 80th minute, Awyong off for
Leonard Nguyen's competitive debut, and Leong off for
Domenik Bögengang, but neither would feature very much with FC Holland now hogging the ball.
