Favour Returned
Ravarotto Snaps Streak
Mayuyu AKB48 reversed and returned the 2-4 defeat that Grilled Birds had inflicted upon them at home, as
Chan Ze Han's return would be inauspiciously embellished by two successful counters from the visitors. It had been pretty even before that, with Gerardo Ravarotto being the critical factor as he largely neutralized
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan's threat down the left.
The Birds had finally gotten off the ground by upending Mayuyu eight league rounds ago, but that would be with Chan leading the charge from the start. Mayuyu would shuffle their midfield and attack about some, with three changes in their backline, key of which would be 39 year-old Turkish centreback Hakim Tüzüm entering the fray as captain, with Luis Bique dropped. Grilled were favourites to take this one, their last meeting and recent results both considered, and the excellent weather at The Cooking Pot didn't hurt.
It wouldn't take long for the fans to realize just what a masterstroke Ravarotto's positioning had been, though, as Mayuyu quickly had the Birds under the cosh.
Teo Chuan Yong's game would be hobbled by a yellow card in the sixth minute for taking Joonas Ahola down, which didn't stop Mayuyu from feeding Ravarotto anyhow. Ferzan was mostly invisible on defence, and had Antonio Olivieri been better at finishing today, the visitors should have been up earlier than it actually happened.
Their goal came in the nineteenth minute, as Ravarotto played the overlap to Burboa on this occasion, which left
Damian Hutter entirely helpless. Burboa would be able to enter Grilled's penalty area with only
Lim An Keng huffing to provide some cover, and he would drag it square to the late-arriving Anders Ekborn, whose strike was solidly placed to the bottom corner.
Grilled did improve after that setback, and they would put together some decent attacking combinations down the middle.
Kalki Parvathaneni won a corner in the 22nd minute taking it to the flag, but
Aw Keng Chuan hammered it off the post, after
Enrique Baena had tipped it to him. The hardworking Spanish winger would be entirely boxed out himself in the 29th, but he would convert that into an assist for
Moey Xin Seng, as the 29 year-old veteran showed few signs of slowing in claiming his sixth league goal of the season.
The equalizer secured, the Birds found their motivation waning somewhat, and reduced appetite for risk-taking saw them drift to half-time without appreciable chances created. Chia would take over from Lim for the second half, which was unfortunately just a prelude to Mayuyu retaking the lead. Jurica Prusina, converted from a winger to striker for this day, would see his pace having a multiplied effect, as he beat Grilled's offside trap for 2-1.
Perhaps worse for Grilled,
Moey Xin Seng would look barely able to move after an impressive first half-hour, with his diligent pressing finally catching up with him. The skipper would duly hand his duties over to
Bilal Mohammad Harun in the 60th minute, which soon coincided with
Teo Chuan Yong breaking past former Slovakian youth international Rudolf Kefalín to open a shooting channel. Philip Boestlinger stood his ground, and nearly got a hand to Teo's rising blast - but not quite.
The home fans sensed that the game was there for the taking, and with
Chan Ze Han now returned to the bench, there was only one man that they would accept as the final substitute on.
Tian Yonghang was in no hurry to show his hand, though, but with his team struggling to manufacture opportunities, he couldn't wait forever. Hutter's overcooked effort in the 79th after a rare venture was the last straw, and Chan would enter for Kalki, to uproarious approval from what felt like was the entire stadium.
Alas, this only foreshadowed the Birds' doom, as they duly proceeded to leak two goals in the next two minutes, ironically with Chan not touching the ball other than for the restart through all that Mayuyu had by far the better legs in reserve, as exhibited by Ravarotto, who barely slowed in covering half the pitch at top speed in sparking a counter down their right flank. Hutter would struggle to keep up as he waited for the hand-off, but there would be none, as the Italian star went it all the way.
There would not even be time for recriminations as Mayuyu pulled much the same tack off Grilled's poor kick-off gamble, and yes, Ravarotto would be fully involved again, as he tormented Ferzan and Hutter towards one last Mayuyu score. Lucas Wauquier had to get it on target from ten yards, and he did. Teo would try to keep the Birds in the mix with a sliding poach two minutes later, but Boestlinger got his torso in the way.
