Perfect Support
Grilled Birds' outstanding tournament form continued, as they went 4-0 in their first day of the Supporter Week Trophy. It wouldn't get much better than against recently-formed Rome side FC Ciccareal, who were battered 0-10 in a one-sided wipeout; the returning
Salah Kamel notched a cheeky second goal. Polish fourth divisioners SK Rapid Wisła put up a stiffer test, but not by much, after Sobiesław Gniazdowski's genius opener that anticipated a bad
Bhavya Panigrahi error.
Vikram Mudaliar connected wonderfully with
Cyril Künzler's cross to equalize, and
Chan Ze Han added a brace towards a 5-1 victory.
Newly-promoted Romanian Division Three side Razesii lui Stefan then gave the Birds their toughest match of the day, with former Iranian international Artan Taherkhani taking just two minutes to outfox the defence. Grilled were 1-3 down at a point, but immediate action from
Neeraj Muthyala and
Bernie Egan ensured that Grilled would enter half-time level, and Muthyala would find the winner from a heavily-contested corner. In contrast, Maldives II.3 representatives AIK Maldives were a step down in losing 3-7, in a fixture best remembered for
Kalle ter Berg's first goal - albeit unofficial - for Grilled, after he got picked on the left side.
This unavoidably brought back memories of the Birds' glorious run to the final sixty-four several seasons ago, and
Chan Ze Han for one was willing to dream. "Why not? I think we have a better squad than then."
Farmer Bunnies would lose their last match of the day, but not before a streak of three wins, beginning against Czech Division Five club FC Arsenal Starovičky. Ion Bălan shocked the Buns with an inch-perfect early chip, but the Buns answered promptly from
Nurlan Ablaev's counter, and
Brendan Leung hit a textbook drive to claim a 4-1 win. Ivory Coast II.1 runners-up beny XVII were next in line, and Ablaev plundered another brace going into
Mushtag Al-Nameeri's successful one-on-one against Portuguese custodian Josué Vasco. Siegfried Schutzbier claimed a consolation, three minutes from time.
Italian Division Five side UF AVELLINO got the Buns' winning margin down to one next, as they met Farmer Bunnies head-on with intense firepower disproportionate to their league level. It was a testament to the Buns' backline that they held out from Mushtag's third minute header all the way to another from
Tham Leng Teck in the 76th minute, before Clément Bachet got one back in the 85th. UF AVELLINO went all in on the equalizer, nearly succumbing to a double-take from Ablaev and then
Wong Ting Yew, and manufactured a big chance for Edgar Fernand that
Vivian Grubenmann thankfully stopped.
Defeat would finally arrive in the form of defending Deutschland-Pokal champions FC Bavaria 08, who are moreover the first club in over twenty seasons to successfully defend the German national cup. The 0-2 final score made the affair look closer than it actually way, as Leopoldo Otermin's well-oiled machine seldom had a hair out of place, against the Buns' understandably-cautious approach.
Christophe Fouche, who bravely held the midfield fort for as much as he could, could only accept the Germans' superiority this day. "I knew what we were in for, and while it feels wrong to view a loss as an achievement, this might just qualify."
While Grilled International had few illusions about making the knockout stages, they ended with the same 3-1 record as the Buns, and began with a bang against Indian Division Two former cupwinners The Bengal Brigade.
Fausto Perono led the way to a 7-1 whipping of the Bengals' reserves, with Polish left winger Jan Potoczny saving them some blushes. It was much the same story against Brazilian V.13 club Fazenda de Craques, in a 6-1 triump that saw
Fausto Perono and
Hardi bin Besar both record hat-tricks.
Austrian third divisioners !Fight Klub! would prove too much for International eventually, with veteran one-club man David Stangl being their standout, as they controlled the game from midfield. Perono did however make it three scoring games in a row with his 69th minute consolation in the 1-5 defeat, before getting another treble in a 9-2 win at Swedish Division Five club Nässjöplättarna FF.
