A Quiet Dinner
There would not be too much to shout about for this season's roundup ceremony, and after
Kalki Parvathaneni's induction into the Grilled Birds Hall of Fame, the other awards would be given.
Aw Keng Chuan racked up his second Player of the Season award after being a steady hand for the Birds all year, whether at the back of in defensive midfield.
Phua Ming Xin was a close runner-up, and picked up the youth version instead, in his last year of eligibility.
There would be no shortage of votes for
Mohd Marzuki Khairul,
Orest Tokarz and
Joe Reece too in particular, and more than a few sentimental ones for the departing
Enrique Baena, but
Tian Yonghang thought the final picks beyond reasonable debate. "It's not that often that a defensive player gets it for us, but there was no looking past Aw." the head coach insisted. "He carried us through quite a few hard games."
For the Farmer Bunnies, it would be the 33 year-old
Mauro Fau to get appreciated, as the veteran Uruguayan played a similar role as Aw, in keeping things tidy before they became a problem further back. There was actually no shortage of alternatives, with
Amaya Ravula,
Amirul Jufri Khairil and
Gilberto Sorondo all getting shouts, but Fau's reliability edged it.
On the youth end,
Toh Eng Guang's youth cap did it for him, with surely not many having given him any chance before season's start. "Toh stands as an example of where hard work and always being ready can get you." club veteran
Mushtag Al-Nameeri praised. "He was always one of the first to training, and amongst the last to leave - and it showed."
No surprises at Grilled International as
Chua Jun Long repeated his win, which was his third POTY in five seasons, with
Umut Koza his only real competition with both ending on seventeen goals apiece. Indeed, Koza had been the slight favourite given the recognition already given to Chua, but the judges gave it to the hometown darling in the end.
Koza didn't seem too let down as he sportingly cheered Chua on, as the youth award went to Dutch youngster
Egidius van der Duin, whose development as a sometime forward impressed many.
Leri Bezhanishvili and
Remond Bergervoet could have been reasonable picks too, but Egidius' consistency did it for him.
