Steady Improvement
Grilled Birds' first day in this Supporter Week Trophy fling would be characterized by a continuous bettering of past results, even if the final 1-1-2 total wasn't too encouraging. It began against Romanian Division Five side Poli Banat, who raced to a 3-0 lead by the 38th minute, before
Aw Keng Chuan led the Birds to tie it up in the 70th. Unfortunately, it would be Poli to recover for their second wind, and another three - including two in the second-to-last minute against Grilled's spent defence - cleaned up.
Brazilian fourth divisioners k1n4d4 were next, on a high after a seven-match winning streak that had seen them promote, and they would nick it 4-3 in injury time through Ednan Natale's counter, with
Bilal Mohammad Harun agonizingly passing up a dramatic equalizer. It was back to the Aw show with another brace as he and Panigrahi fought their way to 4-4 against Turkish Division Five club ota boca juniors fc., before Bilal came up with the winner - finally - versus Ghana III.10 side and former Sapphire Challenger Cup winners, Black Stars Academy.
This left the Birds 18925th of 25952 participants after the first day, with
Tian Yonghang making it a point to single out Aw for special praise. "We all knew of his defensive potential, but who do you know, he has a great eye for shooting opportunities too!"
Farmer Bunnies fared no better with the same record leaving them in 16835th with a slightly better goal difference, as they started their day with a 2-0 win over Hungarian Hattrick Anniversary League outfit Cheetahs 25. They made quite the meal of that too, and it was perhaps something of a disgrace that only
Ibrahim Zahran Al-Maashany and
Demitri Liu found the net against a newly-assembled collection of journeymen.
This it was that they fell flat 0-3 against Spanish V.42 side Ojeras FC next, with UAE defender Marzooq Bin-Byait's fourth minute opener deflating them. A 2-2 against German sixth divisioners Sturm Germania Westig was next, as
Aitykul Zaripbekov's last-gasp supposed winner was matched by Taco Boink, as the Buns found themselves scattered for no reason afterwards. Norwegian IV.61 side Peter's Peons then got their three points, thanks to Cyril Morel's 68th minute sharpshooting past
Gilberto Sorondo.
It was Grilled International's turn to shine, then, as they went as high as 3694th, with three wins. French fifth division side Croix-Rousse FC were their first victims, though Ertoshtuk Kanibekov cut a fine figure in their blue with orange sash, as he made a spectacular charge for their consolation goal in a 1-4 loss. Austrian sixth divisioners and Battle for Division VI specialists FC Busade Amateure were next, and though they overturned a 2-0 lead to go 3-2 up,
Chua Jun Long and
Safari bin Hj Jali dragged International over the line.
International were finally humbled by Bayern's NK Dinamo Eichstätt, as the German sixth divisioners' Ethiopian defender Tedros Alemayehu Kebede made all the difference, with his being the most alert in receiving Dinamo's 24th minute free-kick, to winning it in the 79th after beating
Subhi bin Hj Ahmad on the turn. International would end the day on the right side of another high-scoring affair, defeating Norwegian Division Four opponents Aida Celtic, 6-5.
Head coach
Didi Reidenbach thought that there was much to be pleased about, from this series of matches. "The guys fought hard for each other, and we were competitive against all comers. Now, to apply this to the league..."
