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Quah Shines
Grilled did their liontaming well in their third consecutive friendly on local soil, with a 6-1 victory over the visiting Chiemgau Lionhearts both cementing Grilled's entry into the playoffs as group leader, and extinguishing the Lionhearts' slim hopes of progression.
With qualification all but assured, the nominal hosts felt it safe enough to introduce more fringe players into their starting eleven at Herron's much-storied Sky Ocean stadium. Beckman returned to activity after being dropped from the league for Sulaiman's return, while only Talib of Grilled's regular starting defenders featured. The fearsome strike pairing of Rotteveel and Subri was also dropped in favour of Hjortlind and bin Yaacob.
Hjortlind justified his inclusion just three minutes into the game, as the diligent
Ivaylo Mirchev made his case for more starts with a very determined run down the right sidelines. Keeping his feet despite a couple of hard bumps, Mirchev passed infield to Han Kok, who flicked straight on for Hjortlind to control and ram home.
The visitors held their ground, and levelled in the 22nd minute through impressive 18-year old German midfielder Dieter Kastl. The maroon and pale yellow-clad Lionhearts swarmed Grilled's penalty area in sufficient numbers to confuse the experienced defenders, and Kastl emerged from the melee to knock a searching pass past Beckman.
Grilled always held the upper hand, though, and Quah's class soon told as he turned from provider to scorer. Fjällbratt patiently kept the ball on the left side, and once several Grilled players made their runs it was a matter of vision to float it crossfield to the unshadowed Quah. The ex-U-20 international trapped it with his thigh and stroked it coolly around goalie Jordi de la Lastra.
Hjortlind widened the lead before half-time thanks to a disguised pass from Jie Siong, who has recently expanded his technical repertoire somewhat. With the defence headed the wrong way, it was simple for the Swedish striker to notch his second goal with a surefooted finish to Jordi's right.
The Lionhearts raised their game after the break, but flagged after about twenty minutes, allowing
Dani Spirig to shut the door in their faces with an opportunistic dash past two defenders to score. Mirchev extended the advantage further as ex-coach Alcántara spotted him waiting beside the last man, and lifted a great lob through for Mirchev to scramble home with his head.
Quah Han Kok capped a truly majestic performance with a brace with a strong and direct header off a Mirchev cross, while Talib marred an otherwise clean game with a lazy shove on Lionhearts forward Emmerich Kowarsch in midfield, a foul which merited him a yellow card.
