Synergy Barnstorming
The second day of the Trophy of Legends saw the Birds hit some roadblocks hard, as they first had to endure a 2-4 defeat by former German Bundesliga champions FC Sinergy. While down in Division Five currently, Sinergy retained much of the finely-tuned passing that is part of their proud heritage; actually, the Birds made a good go of it, even taking the lead after
Joe Reece got sent off for retaliating against a combative Chris Volmerstein in the 39th minute, but the man disadvantage would be insurmountable in the second half. Richárd Szatke had his team out to exploit the gaps left behind, and two good finishes by former Moroccan youth international forward Akli Hdda settled matters.
Swiss IV.5 wooden spoonists Barnoldswick United might have had it hard in the league, but remained good enough to whack the Birds 6-1 in the next game, helped by a charmed first-half and some fine defending in the centre.
Chan Ze Han had to rely on a penalty, to save some blushes. Grilled were then left making an example of Spanish sixth divisioners L'Eixample BCN, who had Marcelo Neves score twice in a 4-2 result for the Birds. It should have been more, but
Lim An Keng missed several clear chances, apart from his neat 23rd minute chip.
No cheer for the Buns either, as their offensive shortcomings were cruelly showed in, in three consecutive losses. They did at least score against syysmyrsky (Finnish VI.255) and Twillingate Growlers (Canadian III.4), with
Amirul Jufri Khairil briefly holing out hope of a draw against syysmyrsky, before Joni Rossi hit back from a right-sided cross. As for Twillingate, Tancredi Corà would let fly from twenty yards in the 83rd minute, to make it 3-1.
Belgian Division Five contestants FC Reeb would not allow the Buns even the scant relief of a goal, sadly, as they clobbered them 3-0 by the 32nd minute. It could be considered something of an achievement by Farmer Bunnies that they managed to hold the scoreline down, especially given a twelve-minute period in the second half where they were absolutely battered, and required
Gilberto Sorondo to make no less than four top saves.
Draws were in contrast the order of the day for Grilled International - for their first two matches at least. Belgian VI.597 side Onion Boys 17 were up first, and shared the honours in a 4-4 draw that
Safari bin Hj Jali might have felt was a wasted opportunity, given how he had given International a two-goal lead.
Umut Koza and
Tommy Dongelmans then had them ahead in succession, but Manuele Rolfini equalized for a third time from a slick left-sided move in the 73rd, and Dongelmans got stuck in a good position eleven minutes later.
Swiss sixth divisioners FC SBC were next, and it was 2-2 with International again flubbing a 2-0 lead, built by
Chua Jun Long and
Sazwan bin Hj Muhd Salleh; Marian Bitner hit back 53 minutes in, and a careless handball from
Zaini bin Hj Kaling allowed Markus Deidre to level from the spot. Cape Verde III.6 champions Polacy then swept International 4-0, despite having Jesus Amen sent off six minutes from time.
