Seven Given
Teoh Setback
Sporting Reifeles would be unable to breach
Dimitris Germanakos' goal as they had before, as Grilled Birds refused to even give up any shots on target in their league visit to The Cooking Pot. Controlling the proceedings from beginning to end, the Birds' affording of
Damian Hutter another start in defence would not cause any fluttering of hearts for once, as Reifeles seldom made it that far.
This was not for want of any passion by Álvaro Olivares' team, with captain Lim Eng Liang doing his best to mitigate what was almost certainly a lost cause, having won but one of their eight fixtures thus far. There was, then, an air of inevitability when
Gústav Thoroddsen shrugged Neo Feng Keong off to end up with ball at feet in the six-yard box three minutes in, despite Neo's best efforts. It went in, of course, but there would be worse for the visitors as key midfielder Teoh Kok Ho twisted his left ankle, in attempting to get in the way. Bakhtiar Fathi was a less than adequate replacement, not that it mattered too much in the bigger picture.
Still, the first half was less devastating than it could have been for Reifeles, whose straightforward and honest man-for-man attentions would work out better than most might have expected. With such a large chunk of the possession in the attacking half, the Birds could of course not be shut out totally, as when
Phua Ming Xin had his lob deflected to apparent safety by a defender's boot in the eleventh minute. Unfortunately for Reifeles, it didn't go out, and
Lim An Keng would rush in for the follow-up and 2-0.
Phua would manage it himself, slotting it between Wu Meng Eng's legs five minutes later, but Reifeles clamped down hard after
Chia Kwang Tse had a low curler saved in the 19th minute. Excellent all-around coverage from Ben Doan brought them to half-time without conceding further, but
Federico Parada's inclusion for
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan would then open the game up; Chia would be set up nicely by Parada two minutes into the restart on the right edge of the box, and he would drill it past Wu through sheer power this time.
Parada might have endured a raw season incorporating both petty injuries and stretches of indifferent form, but there were signs that he could be back to something near his best; his dribbles against an increasingly-discombobulated Caleb Sun definitely hinted at that, as did his incisive inside passes when given the opportunity.
Orest Tokarz was only too happy to get on the end of one in the 53rd, and found just enough room between the goalkeeper and his near post for Grilled's fifth goal.
Chase Nguyen would be on for Helmi Najmussabah as Olivares went for fresh legs, which seemed to again slow Grilled down a tad. Not for too long, however, as
Federico Parada went it himself cutting inside from the left after 74 minutes, with
Brian Reddy's cross assist for
Gústav Thoroddsen right on the back of that. Wu Meng Eng then acrobatically blocked
Lim An Keng's strike on the turn, but the biggest sighs were reserved for when old darling
Chan Ze Han put it just over, after coming on as a sub in the 89th minute.
