Fenice Menace
There would once more be lessons learnt as Grilled Birds finished 3882nd of 28988 participants in the Supporter Week Trophy, despite winning two of their three fixtures on the final day. Swedish V.179 side yxskaft cut a dashing figure in their dark skeleton kits, but had
Paulino Trindade and
Joe Reece score by the 13th minute. Finnish midfielder Mikael Hakkio responded after
Chia Kwang Tse's quick thinking in the second half, but
Aw Keng Chuan converted a penalty in added time for 4-1.
It was the big guns next, with two-time Serie A champions L' Araba fenice - who had gained the national title just last season - descending to whip the Birds 7-0. Now, this should probably not have been as unbalanced as the final score suggested, but the Birds basically collapsed once Amar Kasupović chipped it home in the third minute, and the Bosnian national legend then went on to do a number on
Chia Kwang Tse.
Chia was flattered. "I maintain confidence in ourselves, but today was another reminder that there's another mountain to climb."
German V.109 outfit Hunterburger SV then provided a suitable cooldown for Grilled, who repeated the 4-1 they had achieved against yxskaft. Dirk Kuskardy-Dorner opened with a fine swerving volley that eluded
Dimitris Germanakos, but the Birds then replied through
Joe Reece,
Gústav Thoroddsen,
Chad Thach and finally
Brian Reddy's drive.
The Buns drew one and lost two to end up a disappointing 20198th on 3-3-4 with five goals scored and six conceded, beginning with a one-all against German Division Six team BallerBoum Feucht.
Vitaliy Efendiev bent a free-kick over the wall and past Elvio Bestar 25 minutes in, but Swiss Number Nine Georges Selm levelled soon after Efendiev had departed for
Ho Ah Kian in the 70th.
That would be the last goal that the Buns would score in the tournament, as they then fell 0-2 to Polish V.213 contestants Aleleble, who kicked down the door late in the second half through Dobrociech Zeidler and Zahid Mattar. Norway's Båhuslen Revengers then edged the Buns too, with Brandon Sant forcing a dropped catch from a corner home after 58 minutes, to give the V.20 club the win.
International did slightly better with one each of wins, draws and losses, to finish 21784th on a 3-2-5 record, and zero goal difference. Belgian V.122 club FC De Wachtzaal kept them to a 2-2 tie through heavy pressing to begin with, before Scottish IV.26 top seeds Red Bull Rangers 1988 hammered them 3-0 on a rainy afternoon, again through solid defending.
Chua Jun Long was hampered by Mateusz Jeger throughout, which severely limited International's offensive output.
There would at least be H.A.L VII.1062 contestants Lappi Fotbollsklubb to provide some target practice for a by-now spent International, with
Safari bin Hj Jali hitting a treble past the Swedes towards a 7-0 mauling. "There won't be too many more of this." the 38 year-old captain mused. "So I'm just enjoying myself as much as I can."
