Mutual Kill
Audino Again
Having won it for the hosts at the beginning of the season, 38 year-old Italian forward Ciro Audino got up to his old tricks in Tanglin, as he scored both LKS FC's goals in today's two-all draw. This despite having to play a man down for the last hour or so only underlined the reliability of their setup, with the only change from the previous 1-0 win being Chow Chun Jin instead of Imaduddin Ahmad on the wing. Their knack at countering down wide remained unaffected, though, and it was that which supplied both Audino's strikes today.
The Birds handed
Chad Thach and
Lim An Keng starts for this final league test of the season, and
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan was an automatic inclusion at right wing due to the fit. With
Enrique Baena suspended, it was
Paulino Trindade to slot in on the other flank, with
Moey Xin Seng given the day off after an exhausting year. This left
Chan Ze Han to captain from centre-forward, a task that he threw himself into with apparent relish.
It didn't progress as Grilled had hoped, sadly, as the hosts reminded as to why they had lost just twice in the league this term. Busy screening by Frode Haugen provided a formidable shield, without even going into their renowned five-man backline, and it was the Birds who were suckered instead in the eleventh minute.
Bhavya Panigrahi made to step up a split-second too late, as Kento Tanaka curled the cross in from the left touchline. Audino took it down with his inside foot, as he must have done so often before in his long career, and drilled it hard under
Dimitris Germanakos for his 175th career goal.
LKS FC were in exactly the position that they had hoped for, and were able to continue with their preferred waiting game, now that they had secured the lead. This tack had proven hard to bear for their opponents, with
Kalki Parvathaneni an example as he got lured into an uncharacteristic stomp at Harry Walker's foot, in the nineteenth minute. That yellow card aside, the hosts remained very alert in identifying low-risk breakaway opportunities, and a 31st minute attempt from Frode Haugen required Germanakos to pull off an incredible diving stop, as it skipped off the grass.
The Birds soon got the boost that they needed, fortunately, even if it wasn't quite of their own making. An altercation between Scott Pferdemarkt and
Chan Ze Han would turn nasty, and ended with the German veteran pushing his forehead into Chan's. The Grilled captain knew exactly what he had to do, as he fell immediately to the ground, and Swiss referee Noah Kopp had zero qualms in showing Pferdemarkt the red card directly.
Grilled's personnel advantage reaped immediate benefits, as they equalized off the free-kick. Panigrahi sent it hard into the wall, where it got deflected wide to Ferzan, who made a tour of the right flank before cycling the ball back inside. That took enough from the balance of LKS FC's backline, thankfully, and
Paulino Trindade found himself with an inviting hole to attack. That he did, and a strong left-footed effort had Leocadio Angarita well beaten.
That was half-time, with
Chia Kwang Tse on for Thach for the second half, to strike back up his academy partnership with
Lim An Keng. This worked especially well today, and the Birds got into the lead some seven minutes in. Lim knew exactly where his buddy would be without looking, as he drifted from left to right across the box, and Chia exhibited good understanding in his one-touch play on for
Teo Chuan Yong. Teo might not have impressed thus far, but he could hardly spurn such a gift on a platter. 2-1, Grilled.
The home team looked badly shaken at this point, and they would have to hustle hard to keep the Birds from running away with it, with much of the necessary work put in by Haugen at stopper. This was an admirable attitude to take despite having already secured second place come what may, but it clearly didn't look good when Audino crashed hard to the turf clutching his chest in the 59th minute, after a solid collision with
Aw Keng Chuan. Kopp would stop the match for several minutes then, which allowed the rest of the players to indulge in a welcome water break.
The Birds were handling being ahead pretty well too, and with twenty minutes remaining,
Tian Yonghang would make to make extra sure with some fresh legs;
Gilbert Webb would be called upon as a substitute as he had been against the Tonners last week, as was
Bilal Mohammad Harun, who took over from a haggard
Kalki Parvathaneni. Haugen continued his Man-of-the-Match display in defensive mid, though, as he somehow minimized the impact of his team being a man down.
That didn't save Haugen from a yellow card for a calculated foul on
Lim An Keng, but all his sacrifices and hard work would have its reward. When it seemed almost hopeless for LKS FC, they would gain a priceless breakaway down the right, when Haugen harried
Damian Hutter into giving it up to Chow Chun Jin. Ciro Audino knew exactly where he had to go, and Webb couldn't reach him in time, before he had already put head to ball, for a snap header into the net.
