Swedish Denial Redux
Another Swedish luminary threw a wrench into Grilled's Supporter Week Trophy campaign as Dicanio had in the Trophy of Legends, as just-relegated Allsvenskan club Fredrikshovsgatan Oilers took an absolute thriller in injury time. It swung from Grilled following
Kalki Parvathaneni's 11th minute opener, towards the Oilers as they answered twice, back level as
Bhavya Panigrahi equalized, and then back as Elmar Wachtmann drilled an unstoppable effort home - and all this before half time. A Herculean effort from
Chan Ze Han had the Birds 4-3 up by the 75th minute, but Milan Brštiak recovered shortly afterwards, and Yann Cheval won it with their final possession of the game.
Chan Ze Han couldn't even be mad, as he confronted the result post-game. "It had to be superb for the neutrals, and while we could - should - have held on, this could have gone either way."
The matches that followed could hardly be expected to measure up to that hype, but
Salah Kamel nearly managed it, with his hat-trick against Polish Division Three club O.K.S. Dachowiec. Led by current Senegal national forward Ousmane Signate, and furthermore comprising former youth internationals in Sergio Mungroo and Brian Koech, Dachowiec kept it close for a 3-5 final score. The Pakistan Premier Legaue's Jones Juniors was next, and it was Chan's turn for a treble, with
Vikram Mudaliar adding a fourth in a 4-1 victory.
Eren Serpin acknowledged the raw skill and influence of the 28 year-old
Chan Ze Han. "It's hard to believe that we possess such a player sometimes. Ability, character, heart... he has it all. And the best thing is, he has many good years ahead of him!"
The Buns continued to flag, as they were first schooled 4-0 by Polish III.10 side Poznańskie Susły, who had Jakub Wiktorek strike twice after a rash of incomplete counterattacks. They recovered to defeat Colombian third divisioners The Lynxs through goals by
Ibrahim Zahran Al-Maashany and
Nurlan Ablaev, only to fall by the same margin to Dutch Division Five hosts Fur Elise, who emphasized distance shooting only to prevail through more unorthodox moves.
Ghanaian defender
Richard Agyei recognized that it would be a long, tough road back to the top. "A transition is always tricky, but we are up to it."
Grilled International fared marginally better, but had to contend with a 2-6 loss to Estonian H.I. Division Four side Vormsi koerad, to begin with. International were overrun badly despite technically winning possession, and Polish sweeper Sławomir Rosłonek had the time of his life, as he popped up thrice for an unlikely hat-trick.
A 4-4 against Swedish IV.220 club Di Röe was next, which involved International giving up a three goal lead, only for
Tibor Atzenhain to salvage a point from a complicated free-kick routine in the 67th minute. Canadian III.13 side Cannons AC would then be beaten 5-3, as
Wang Hanxuan pulled out the stops in the final fifteen minutes, to seize the match by himself.