Birds Rampant
Five Stars
Grilled prevailed 4-1 in a pivotal league match against Team Singapore which kept them from sinking into the relegation morass. Martinsson, van Liere, Kek-Tjiang and Sid were the scorers for Grilled, while the visitors only had Jani Tegelberg's 70th minute effort to show for their endeavour.
Despite the recent loss to mist and the Cup elimination, Grilled's loyal fans were still in good voice and urged their side on loudly. That brought dividends as the Grilled players responded in kind, with Han Kok getting an 11th minute one-on-one opportunity with Xiaolun, only to bash it wide.
Ola Martinsson demonstrated a proper finish in the next minute, after Bona won the ball convincingly in midfield and found the Swedish hitman with a crossfield pass. Letting his instincts take over, Martinsson pounded it back towards the middle, then cracked a snap shot right after the ball bounced which eluded Xiaolun's reflexes.
Team Singapore were not without their moments, and bin Manaf sprung the offside trap with his delayed pass to Syamsul, which fooled Grilled's back three into stepping up. Left with Sulaiman to beat, Syamsul found no chink in the imposing Egyptian's armour and had to hit it hard and high. It would have been the perfect answer, had it not hit the crossbar.
Hidde van Liere got Grilled's second goal when he turned Kok-Peng inside out in the 50th minute to clear for himself a path to goal. As he neared, he briefly considered lifting it to the back post for Simon to attack, but in the end surprised himself by rifling an unstoppable bullet in at the near post.
The visiting team reduced the deficit through Jani Tegelberg, who capitalized on his good understanding with Vaios Rodostoglou to latch on to an immediate return ball. Fredgård couldn't cover him in time, and the Finnish winger made every second count as he sized up his shot, then delivered it unerringly into the far post.
Grilled had the last laugh, though, as Kek-Tjiang concluded several minutes of possession by Grilled with a decent low strike that Xiaolun just couldn't hold on to, then Sid scored from open play from an acute angle after overlapping Spirig on the byeline.
