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| FIXTURE HISTORY |
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| Season 50 | D | 2 - 2 | Tournament (Group Phase) | | Season 48 | W | 5 - 2 | Tournament (Group Phase) |
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Super Eights
Woon Whacks One
Grilled took a huge step towards equalling or bettering their last SG Super Cup finish of fourth, by beating Be Champions FC 3-0 to kick off the eighth edition. The two-time winners were perhaps fixated on the mammoth Wednesday Cup visit of Tanglin Winners FC, even without mentioning the bruising draw against Jurong FC that saw defenders Arnold Pang and Mohammad Rafa Khyril Muhymin carted off.
National centreback Mohd Ezmi was ready and well, together with former Guatemalan goalkeeper Edmundo Ortega, the duo having kept the Birds to a two-all tie the last time the sides met in this tournament. Grilled kept with an unchanged side, while Champions introduced former Angolan youth international wingback Eduardo António Galambas, together with longtime one-club man Lim Yong Teck as a honorary midfielder.
With so many luminaries on display, it was perhaps a shame that the weather didn't hold up, with it leading to some heavy swings of fortunes. Champions were doing well until Benoît Pouderoux stumbled in a puddle in the fourth minute, and
Abdul bin Jantan didn't wait around to offer his condolences, immediately beating a path up the right.
That particular move eventually came to nothing after the final cross was carried into the stands by the wind, but there would be no lack of drama as
Seytek Djekshenkulov carved a route through with more guts than skill, only to have the ball taken off his feet by Ortega. Mohd Safri, who was nearest to the action, immediately raised his hand to appeal for a penalty, but referee Tong Yiwu was completely uninterested.
The action continued at the opposite end, as a relieved Ortega wasted no time in powering a kick well into the Grilled half. The Champions attacking setup dallied about until it appeared too late, and then Hungarian Number Seven Dávid Budai got a good run-up and decided to have a go from beyond thirty yards.
Edmund Kryus would never have gotten to it, so it was just as well for Grilled that the ball dipped narrowly wide.
Mohd Ezmi, who had a headed equaliser in the last meeting, tried for another, but it would be
Woon Shun An who would write himself into the records with a good bit of control to keep Larose at bay before putting it past Ortega. The goalie had it covered, but an odd bounce took it beyond his guard.
Conditions made craft difficult throughout this half, and thankfully for the art of football, the sky began to clear towards half-time. Grilled took full advantage with an immediate rally from the restart, but Ortega made a world-class save with his boot to deny Mohd Safri's strike across goal.
It turned out to be the usual suspects who would make themselves known again, and
Tian Yonghang warmed up with a stout effort that bounced back off the crossbar. No worries, as
Zhu Changchun retrieved it, and after being played all the way back to Kryus,
Chow Ying Lee found the space to break loose, and Tian was on hand to tap it in right on the hour.
Few can stop Chow when he's in that sort of mood, and despite one current and one former international in Champions' defensive ranks, neither were able to stay with the incredibly fast forward after his speculative sprint was picked out perfectly by Djekshenkulov. Galambas made a good try, but was still a step too slow as Chow toepoked just well enough to outwit Ortega.
Champions were not going down without a fight, but with Oh Kian Lai and Gan Haoxiang operating from deep, they too often found themselves without a target to aim for. The introduction of the on-form
Shiya Shaahee in the 70th minute made it even tougher, as he effectively shut off Champions' left flank by forcing Pouderoux to stay back, and it was all but over by the time
Rashid bin Ahmad came on for
Qassem Madaini.
