Rajah Ousted
Quah Saves
Grilled were run very close by a spirited Rajah XI, but the Division Four underdogs were eventually seen off by two late strikes from the Grilled midfield. Grilled had reason to be wary of their challengers, as Rajah had already eliminated the established newbies are newbies 6-1 through a breathtaking attacking force that would not look out of place in the S-League. Therefore, Grilled again opted for a defensive solution, placing Rotteveel as the lone frontman.
The hosts' young strike trio of Ooi Cheng Aik, Zairo Anuar bin Minsi and Mohd Syamsuri bin Musa was eagerly cheered on by the home support, who willed them to break down the opposing defence as they had done so many times before. The seasoned Grilled back four helmed by Valdir was a different kettle of fish to most they had faced, though, and Grilled got the first real opportunity of the match when Rotteveel headed strongly onto the crossbar from a hopeful lob upfield. Paullin got hold of the rebound, but shot too straight and let new goalkeeper Björn Larsson tip it over.
Nawaz Talib gave Grilled the lead with his first cup goal of the season when he cut infield and got picked out by
Sandy Edmond. With two defenders already pulled out of position by the hard-running American, Talib had free rein to scuttle his way into the penalty area and drive a low effort past Larsson.
Rajah came back in style the very next minute, though, as they pushed ahead right from the kick-off, and
Han Lik-Tsun had no choice but to bring Zairo down at the head of the penalty area. Up stepped local free-kick specialist Mohd Ariffin bin Abd Karim, who like Sid plays at rightback. The wicked curl was well worthy of Sid too, as it bent back just after passing the defensive wall and left Valdir totally stranded.
Now back level, Rajah pushed fiercely to take the ascendancy, but were unable to breach a prepared Grilled backline again. Chinese winger Ma Quoc-Bao and goalscorer Mohd Ariffin were both booked for heavy mistimed tackles, but were nevertheless given the full backing of the excited crowd.
The match degenerated into something of a slog for much of the second half, as Grilled were unwilling to risk their advancement on a Rajah breakaway, and Rajah did not have the expertise to penetrate nine Grilled players hunkering down deep. This deadlock was finally broken when
Lorenz Paullin sped in on the right wing and angled home a second goal, and Quah made it more or less safe two minutes later with a sweet volley while the home side were still in disarray.
The lead was swiftly cut back to one as defender Sim Nie Jin headed in a fast cross from Ma as Rajah gambled and won on an all-out offense, but the home side were also fortunate not to lose out as both Quah and Han had breakaway shots saved by Larsson. In the end, Quah's third goal proved decisive as Rajah were unable to manufacture an equaliser before time ran out.
