Eiermarked
Admittedly Undersöld
The Birds cruised into the quarterfinals of the Mönninghof Cup with a 7-3 whooping of German Division Six challengers 1.FC Eierlikör, who nevertheless also qualified for the next round, after Bethlehem Kickers failed to make the yawning goal difference gap up. Former Öff-Cee Mülheim star Soenke Unsöld had an edge about him that kept Grilled honest, but they were essentially home free after a turbocharged first half.
Having drawn against Bethlehem last week, Eierlikör needed a win to be safe, and they always had a puncher's chance with their über-direct brand of football. Though they did have very serviceable midfielders, vice-captain Alexander Hammerschmid for one, they never appeared content with simply holding it up.
This might have gone against all recent advances in soccer theory, but on the other hand, the Birds weren't exactly paragons of possession either. Eierlikör's boldness didn't take long to bear fruit, with
Yuta Nakakita being pressed into putting it behind, after underestimating Immanuel Niklaus's potency at the press in the third minute. The corner was badly defended, and although
Valentin Batâr sprang at Roland Ollé's header, Soenke Unsöld was there to nick it after it came off the goalie's torso.
There would always be chances for Grilled the way the hosts were playing, at least, and their wingers in particular had a fine time patrolling the sidelines. Eight minutes in, Holger Rømer gave
Cyril Künzler rather more space than he should have been warranted, and the Pole didn't question why, instead picking out
Moey Xin Seng's purposeful run down the middle.
That was the equaliser, and the match would begin to revolve around Künzler more and more. Eierlikör in refusing to adapt were exceedingly vulnerable to his dependable pace, and after several incursions were halted only by the intervention of countryman Kazimierz Stachura, Künzler would go all the way in the 23rd. He had a decent shot at finishing it himself, but very unselfishly laid it across for
Chan Ze Han to walk in.
Spanish custodian Vicent Balagué had barely returned to his spot when he was called into action to tip a stinger of a free-kick from Moey over, but the Birds were all over them by now.
Chu Xin Lee would come away with the ball for a straightforward finish several minutes later, before
Islom Davlatov made it 4-1 with his eye for a steal.
While this was not a good look for Eierlikör, they did have the consolation that Bethlehem were not comfortable against Kinderboys either, though they did manage to take the lead just before the break. Israeli gaffer Uri Eliyahu tried to get his players to play it slightly more conservatively, but his advice went mostly unheeded, as Chan breezed in to chip the fifth over Balagué with élan.
The tide would swing their way after the teams made defensive substitutions, however, as a disoriented
Hoàng Trung Quá got confronted by Eierlikör's best offensive effort since their goal. He did okay to get Luís Belchior to spread it out wide, but that merely delayed the goal, as Immanuel Niklaus cut an excellent cross, almost impossible to miss for the floating Roland Ollé.
It would be the Hungarian's last touch of the game, as he had to make way for impact sub Jiří Juřica, but this would be an inspired swap on the part of Eliyahu. Juřica was instrumental in stitching play together after
Kalki Parvathaneni had blasted across Eierlikör's penalty box, and his final through pass to Unsöld was enough for him to make it 5-3 - game on!.
Perhaps dizzy at how well his last tactical change had turned out, Eliyahu wasted no time in getting Januário Jesus Barbosa on for Niklaus, as the spectators perked up in anticipation. It certainly gave Eierlikör a different sort of bite on the left, with the Cape Verdean quite the expert at close control. Künzler was made to look silly for once, but thankfully nothing came of that dribble.
Künzler wasn't taking that humiliation silently, and he would pay Barbosa back in kind slightly later, showing him a clean pair of heels in a run starting forty yards from goal.
Neeraj Muthyala considered his options as Künzler dealt it sharply to him, and opted to return it right where the winger was heading. Vicent Balagué tried to close the distance, but wasn't quite fast enough either.
With their comeback hopes now up in smoke, the only remaining concern for the Eierlikör set was whether they could hold out for a quarterfinal place. Bethlehem Kickers were very inconveniently coming into their own against a tiring Kinderboys team, and when news filtered through that Mirgjin Shytermeja had put Bethlehem 4-1 up, there were some pretty nervous faces on the bench.
Grilled weren't about to let them off either, as they continued attacking with a ferocity that some Eierlikör fans clearly felt was unsporting.
Kalki Parvathaneni wasn't paying them any heed, not after his last miss had led to Eierlikör's third, and he would finally beat Balagué on the ground after first slicing past Holger Rømer.
That meant that Eierlikör were only ahead on goals scored now, and there was a collective dropping of hearts when
Chan Ze Han went for his hat-trick in the 86th, having spun away from multiple defenders in the process. There appeared no reason why he wouldn't score, after even Xavier Rives fell to his last shoulder-shrug feint, but Vicent Balagué came up with by far his biggest save of the day, to also save Eierlikör's tournament.
