Two-goal hero Tang Hengcai admitted to being nervous about scuppering Grilled's Cup dreams so early in the competition, but acknowledged that his debut had gone far more smoothly than he dared to imagine. "I felt in the groove out there, but made many mistakes too." he said modestly.

Second-half sub Krishnan Adabala too owned up to having butterflies in his stomach when his name was called, not helped by spotting his proud parents seated in the stands. "The first few minutes were a blur, and I was focused on not giving the ball away. Then, I remembered we were leading by four goals, and it all got much easier."