Zainol's Zest
Rotteveel Chased Down
Malaysian ex-youth international
Subri bin Ku Zainol struck a hat-trick as Grilled bounced back from defeat in the best possible way, in the process putting himself level with Rotteveel in the goal stakes despite the Dutchman also finding the net against Durian_picker. A free-kick from Sid was the cherry on top, as Grilled stay on Rollin' Thunder's tail.
The derby got off to a nervy start as the Grilled players knew that any slip-up could spell the death knell for their title aspirations, but the visitors continued their recent poor run of form, which had seen them go down to RaZer and TTTNW in quick succession. They were competent in midfield though, and boasted of a solid spine, but were rather shaky in the wide positions.
Hidde van Liere thrives in such situations, and in the tenth minute he skipped past Phua Beng Jia to drill in a telling cross that
Han Lik-Tsun placed barely inches wide.
Grilled would suffer from frustrating finishing for the majority of the half, and had Subri to thank for reducing the pressure on them. He looked well shackled as he hung off the shoulders of the centrebacks, but was off in a flash when Han Kok sought him out with a searching pass. Tan Xin Yeng covered expertly, but a foot of space was enough as Subri's effort plinked off Tan's thigh and over a wrongfooted Naci Barkal.
The Turkish goalie endured until the 49th minute, when Rotteveel broke through Durian_picker's all-local defence with alacrity. Rather than going for it himself though he had an excellent chance of scoring, Rotteveel unselfishly made totally sure of a goal by squaring it to Subri, who walked it into the net.
After Subri had spurned a great change to complete his hat-trick with a rising pot-shot that brushed the top of the crossbar, Rotteveel again counted on his impressive acceleration to create a third for himself. Phua simply had no answer to Rotteveel's push-and-run tactic after holding off committing a professional foul and certain sending-off, and Barkal came off his line too late to prevent the Dutchman from having far too much of his goal to aim at.
Despite Grilled being happy enough to sit on their three-goal lead, Subri got his hat-trick in the end, and with minimal support. van Liere provided the distraction, but Subri's close control was phenomenal as he slalomed past the two men in his way as though they weren't there. The finish wasn't half bad either.
The visitors were quite disspirited by now, and despite holding more of the possession they couldn't make it count, with their own speedster Tsai Soon-Jung venting his anger at the lack of service. Grilled had one more weapon at their disposal, and reminded everyone about it when Paullin was tripped when in full flight just in front of Durian_picker's penalty area. Sid got his seventh league goal of the season after Rotteveel stepped aside to open a gap in the defensive wall.
