Cats Show Stars
It would be a rough second day for Grilled Birds in the Supporter Week Trophy, as they were beaten by four goals twice; but before that, they at least recorded a 5-3 win over French V.32 side Le Mans 72, as
Chan Ze Han rode to the rescue with a flashy hat-trick, after Le Mans 72 had put themselves two up - saving
Damian Hutter's blushes after his earlier horrendous mishap. Eudes Bègue replied in the 78th after
Orest Tokarz's miss went high, but it was too late for the French.
Grilled Birds had to be the underdog against Turkish Süper Lig members BESKAZASTARS next, however one cuts it, and there was indeed not much of a struggle put up, as BESKAZASTARS exhibited their famous long-shooting style. Former Chilean youth international Jurgen Montero and Éric Fromentin strung home two each, as the unpolished Birds strike force failed to make a dent in their defense-in-depth, for all of Chan's deviousness.
The Birds would fare little better against top-ranked Detriot club Ophelia Is My Cat, who currently reside in the American II.2. Captained by homegrown former U-20 World Cup champion Logan Ault, and with another seasoned international in Canadian rightback Samuel Routhier, the Birds had to depend on goalie Vernon Matta's less-than-ideal shot-stopping, to wrest two goals via
Chia Kwang Tse and
Joe Reece. The Cats still won out 6-2 in any case, with Lubomír Doležel rocking with a brace.
No joy for Farmer Bunnies either, who couldn't buy a win today. Former Albanian Consolation Cup winners, K.F Ballistët Tetovë of II.2, wore them down to a 2-0 result with American Number Eight Eric O'Neal cracking home a half-volley in the 26th minute. The Buns had some neat counterattacks, foremost probably
Ho Ah Kian's foray in the 53rd, but all was lost when the long-named and long-limbed Belgian Wim Thys van den Audenaerde waded through a packed penalty box, to slip a second past
Gilberto Sorondo.
Ethiopian H.A.L V.98 outfit Stormlight Bear then rose late to overturn
Vitaliy Efendiev's second-minute free-kick strike, as the Buns were left to again rue not converting their chances; Blaise Weilenmann equalized in the 73rd minute, and Bulcha Teshome came good with his all-or-nothing run at
Guan Ming Kum, six minutes later. The Buns then ended the day with a credible 2-2 draw against Uruguay III.4 club Decano 1891, as
Ong Li Jing and then
Vitaliy Efendiev answered their first-half goals.
Grilled International put together the best run of the day with two victories, the first against Luxembourg's Abitanti Niubbo, of the H.A.L V.78. Captain
Safari bin Hj Jali was in sparkling form with a hat-trick as International roared back from an early penalty setback converted by Mikuláš Vonásek, with
Chua Jun Long making up the other goal in the 42nd minute as he weaved past two defenders with verve.
German sixth divisioners FC Große Faxen offered even less resistance, as they were taken 4-0 by International, never quite working out how to handle a huge possession disadvantage.
Chua Jun Long completed the scoring by the 37th minute, and narrowly missed out on his hat-trick on the hour. Canadian IV.34 side Mahone Bay BayStars then put a halt to International's winning streak, sadly, as they ran out a 5-3 win, though Chua did again score twice - if matched by Dixon Harry and Arigh Tuluy for the BayStars.
