Mongolian Rundown
Buyruk Khan
The pressures of the long season were evidently getting too much for Grilled Birds, as they were trampled 5-0 by Hattrick International II.2 representatives, FC Mongo; formed by the same management of German clubs Die Chancenlosen and Kuzorras Enkel, FC Mongo had arguably outstripped both in prestige, having lifted the Hattrick International Emerald Challenger Cup two seasons before. Turkish superstar Asım Buyruk, the gamewinner against Poland's LEGIA GDAŃSK 2017 then, was again in unstoppable form with a hat-trick today.
The signs were etched in the Birds' players' faces as they trooped out wearily for their latest duty, with
Salah Kamel looking the only one genuinely up for it - although a few others did try their best to look interested. FC Mongo seemed rather fresher, despite their own share of disappointment, from being knocked out in the Hattrick International Cup quarterfinals by Spain's Kopelos less than a fortnight ago. Uncompromising head coach Bat Batu had kept their squad eager and healthy, no mean feat in itself.
The problems started soon enough, after the Birds' relatively bright start, which saw
Chu Xin Lee try Nikita Kordaš out with the first shot of the match on target, in the fifth minute. It was then all downhill from thence, with only one side enjoying the challenge, and it wasn't Grilled. Batu had contructed this team around a homegrown core, represented by no fewer than seven starters today, and the familiarity showed.
Now, it wasn't like Grilled were thrown together in a hurry either, but they certainly had their weaker points - and being run at by tenacious attackers was one of them. The entire midfield had pushed up when Subotai Tortulakh won it back, and once
Mateja Jeftić's attempted interception of the expected through pass went awry, it was always Asım Buyruk's goal to lose. That was something the Turk was alien to, on a one-on-one no less, and
Manuel Vadalà couldn't get down quickly enough to prevent this eleventh-minute strike.
Vadalà, already badly eaten by his perceived failure against Sarcastic Fringeheads, would suffer further blows to his self-esteem here. There seemed little enough danger when
Neeraj Muthyala tripped Bourtai Mongke some thirty yards out, but Bulgarian free-kick specialist Muhammed Emin Hale managed to keep it on target with some swerve. Still, the goalkeeper should have been favourite to stop that, but Vadalà could only deflect it into his own net.
The day only got worse for the Italian goalie, as he conceded a third goal by the 23rd minute. Taban Gal had been pushed to the sidelines by a busy
Kalle ter Berg, but Gal snuck the cross in, which had Buyruk waiting together with
Chan Ze Han. Chan might be a talent of myraid skills, but aerial ability wasn't amongst the best of them, and Buyruk got the essential contact - and a slight deflection off Chan. That left Vadalà no chance at all, with Chan throwing his arms up in resignation after the realization.
The interval brought no respite, as FC Mongo were by far the more jazzed up on resumption too.
Gilbert Webb stopped their first wave in the 51st minute, but wingman Buandelgereen Genghis stayed in an advanced area, and was brilliantly sought out by Surtak Magsa's crossfield delivery. Vadalà had the air of a wounded creature as he raced foward to meet Genghis, only for the Number Nine to brush it around him, and nicely in at the far corner for 4-0.
Grilled did have some chances of their own, but none a shoo-in, and the best they had made for a time would come several minutes on;
Bernie Egan slid it through to
Kalki Parvathaneni, whose following back-flick was an excellent idea, but just not firm enough to catch the goalkeeper out. Instead, it would be Asım Buyruk to complete his hat-trick in the 64th, via a quite unbelievable rampage straight through all comers.
One could almost feel for Vadalà at that, with the goalie probably not really at fault for most of today's goals. The Birds did recover some of their mojo at this point, with Kalki being particularly active in going for a consolation. However, while he did exceedingly well to outfox Chagatai Inalchuk making his way inside in the 68th minute, he tried to do too much with the finish, and it ended up being easy for Nikita Kordaš.
Heng Dong Chu was put on for
Chu Xin Lee with twenty minutes left, and immediately began targeting Surtak Magsa down his left flank, with all the more intensity after Genghis' efforts opposite. Muhammed Emin Hale was fortunate to stay on after he made a rough tackle on the winger, long after he had released his shot. This was probably due to Kordaš having already warded it behind for a corner.
Neeraj Muthyala could do no better on a long ball played to the right, and with
Kalle ter Berg also booked for petulantly refusing to hand the ball over on a disputed throw-in, the Dutchman would be substituted together with
Mateja Jeftić with five minutes left. That was far too short to expect much from
Bilal Mohammad Harun and
Bhavya Panigrahi, and indeed, the scoreline stayed as it was.
