Pohodáři Power
Grilled Birds ate a rare loss in their latest Supporter Week Trophy campaign, as Czech fifth division champions Pohodáři jsou zpět countered them magnificently on a wet morning.
Florus Romijn kicked off the scoring for Grilled in the 15th minute, but Pohodáři's 5-3-2 system would be uncannily effective against the Birds thereafter, and Portuguese captain Elísio Costa upped their lead to 4-1 in the 76th minute after expertly marshalling his team for long stretches.
Neeraj Muthyala pulled one back after that, but an overturning was not on the cards.
Chan Ze Han wasn't stingy with his praise for the Czechs. "They held firm and smashed us on the breaks, though we were already expecting that. Fair play to them."
This loss however led into a trio of large-margin wins, and French Division Six side Houle FC II would get on the wrong end of a 6-0 hiding and
Kalki Parvathaneni double. Chan then found a hat-trick in a 5-1 versus Swiss-founded Iraqi Division Two team Kosmos Absurdistan Orient, before another 6-0 over German Division Six club 1.FcNürnberg.
Neeraj Muthyala and
Cyril Künzler got braces then.
Farmer Bunnies would be undefeated with three wins and a draw, beginning with a 4-0 over Austrian Division Five side SpVgg Praterstern, led by
Mushtag Al-Nameeri. Former Campeonato Ecuatoriano members Liga Deportiva Halabi were rather tougher to crack, and the Buns would collect three bookings in a bitterly-contested nil-all battle, in which they manufactured several promising chances. Steigvilas Sobulis was Halabi's creative outlet, and came into his own later on, but not enough to score.
A straightforward 2-0 against Belgian fourth division club new church utd was next, with
Nurlan Ablaev and Mushtag doing the deed by the 29th minute. French II.1 side Aasgard would provide a very stiff challenge, as they went ahead through Fernando Frutuoso's splendid movement in the ninth minute.
Jon Benson and
Kwek Yun Jie put the Buns ahead by half-time, and though Cédric Niato equalized on a dangling cross in the 62nd, Ablaev would seal a 3-2 victory on a lightning counterattack.
Grilled International mirrored the Birds' journey, starting with a 0-5 whipping from Polish Division Five club Conspol, although much of that was down to their own faults. Mongolian H.I. representatives Golden Horde of Mongols, Minstrels and Mangonels would provide them with a free walkover to recharge, very conveniently.
International would then have to scrap for their next wins, first a 4-3 thriller against Italian Division Six club Karlulli1960 AC. Veteran Polish forward Zenon Kociok contributed a hat-trick for the Milan side, only to be disappointed as International rebounded sensationally from two goals down. It was then International's turn to race to a 3-0 lead over Austrian fifth divisioners Wacker Jedlesee, before having to contend with a tense final few minutes, as Jedlesse came back to 3-2.