Roses Yorked
Vikram Bowlout
The Birds had managed to pack in some participation in the eleventh season of the Golden Trophy, where they were placed in Group A alongside a trio of English clubs; first up in this gauntlet were former Craig Wozniak Cup holders White Rose of Yorkshire, who have however yet to attain those giddy heights, after their rebranding from Blue Yorkshire United. Flamboyant and much-loved gaffer Davey Wallace - a fixture at the club since his academy days - is doubtless aimed for a revival, but while the Roses are not short of proven craft in the form of Arkadiusz Milik, Lai Zhijie and more, time unfortunately appears to be running out for this generation.
Indeed, with the exception of 25 year-old new hope Bobby Charlton, none of their players taking to the field today were under 32 years of age, with many being at least three or four years older. Now, Grilled were no spring chickens either, but the difference in energy told.
Eren Serpin would allow his recently less-used fellows to try and impress him here, among of which had to be counted
Vikram Mudaliar,
Kalki Parvathaneni and possibly
Salah Kamel.
Although White Rose of Yorkshire boldly matched Grilled formation for formation, there was no question that there was a stark distinction in energy levels, which became obvious after awhile. In theory at least, the Roses should have been able to give the Birds a fair amount of worry, but they were never able to impose themselves convincingly. Apparently, their battle to the last eight of this season's Craig Wozniak Cup, where they crashed out to Sexy Football Utd, had taken a lot of them.
With their possession advantage locked in, the Birds would start squeezing the Roses deeper and deeper, and despite Wallace exhibiting some quite laudable defensive instincts, the shots would have to come.
Salah Kamel's inch-perfect control on the touchline in the 17th minute allowed him to advance against Kylian Pardoel's close-up marking, but
Kalle ter Berg wasn't able to do his cross justice. The next big Grilled chance took another ten minutes or so to materialize, and this time
Kalki Parvathaneni sent it a yard wide.
The goal would then arrive through the under-weather
Vikram Mudaliar, whose old form briefly reappeared as he received
Gilbert Webb's thirty-yard through pass from within Grilled's own half. Kamel spoilt the moment a little with an uncalled-for lunge on Philip van der Burgh that might have seen him sent off by a stricter referee, but the Birds resumed their more-positive advances quickly. It just wasn't Ter Berg's day as he arced a volley wide, but
Chu Xin Lee then put his finish between Valerio Modafferi's feet, on Grilled's next effort.
Bhavya Panigrahi's following bid from a free-kick would be well-saved by the Italian goalkeeper, however.
The match resumed with Mudaliar soon scoring again, as he broke the opponents' offside trap, and expertly drew Modafferi out. However, on hindsight, it would have to be said that Mudaliar's performance outside of those strikes had been distinctly lackluster, with nearly none of his hold-ups or passes going well.
Still, that was 3-0 for Grilled, and if the Roses were ever going to turn this around, one sensed that they would have to make some big changes. Wallace showed no signs of drawing upon his bench, however, and after Arkadiusz Milik's booking for clattering Webb, it was the Birds who would instead freshen their side up with a double sub. Off came Panigrahi and Moey, and on came
Yuta Nakakita and
Chan Ze Han.
The duo slotted right in without missing a beat, and it was testament to the Grilled team's effectiveness as a whole, that
Massoud Dob wouldn't have a single real save to make. The onslaught continued with Chan orchestrating, and his little flick on in the 73rd minute opened the left side up for
Chu Xin Lee, who nearly caught Modafferi napping with an instant lob. The fourth goal wasn't long in coming, and
Salah Kamel would rise highest to head it in several minutes on, as Yuta delivered the corner at the requisite height beautifully.
Yuta would then go for it himself, and would look as surprised as most, as Modafferi allowed his rather pedestrian outside-the-box drive through. Kalki tried for a sixth in injury time, but the goalie wasn't quite as generous on this occasion.
