Odessa Flounder
Birds Concede Nothing
With possibly the deciding match of this S-League season up next, Grilled Birds had no reason to be modest against Ukrainian challengers Odessa fkch, and they bossed the II.2 leaders to the extent that
Jānis Salmiņš barely had a save to make all day. In theory, the gap between the sides was hardly that great, what with Odessa boasting of former Norwegian international midfielder Ejnar Juul at their core, but their totality simply paled when placed against Grilled's well-oiled machine.
The Birds were back in their trademark 2-5-3, with
Bernie Egan and
Vikram Mudaliar flanking
Chan Ze Han in attack, as
Eren Serpin considered his optimal lineup against Haha. Tellingly,
Heng Dong Chu was given license to roam on the left, with
Kalki Parvathaneni rested. Odessa were no lightweights, though, and Juul aside, Christian Curi and Robert-Gabriel Bitere were arguably the equal of any of Grilled's midfield men. The only knock might have been on their strikers' tendency to stay up, but his could hardly be accounted as an unequivocal shortcoming.
As it turned out, they would barely be involved.
Odessa would bet on their own formidable attacking flair in an open game, terms gratefully accepted - and then absolutely exploited - by Grilled. While both are leading their respective leagues, it is probably true that the Birds are being run rather closer, which was reflected in their indubitably more intense approach; it would mostly get sorted out after the first few minutes, and the Birds would spend most of the remaining time parked in the opposition half.
The Ukrainians would soon discover the limitations of not being able to get a hold on the ball, but at least in Ciro Fusaro, they had a sweeper who could hang with the best. Even Fusaro had to resort to fouling Chan eventually, however, and this had Fritz Reigsecker make the first of many big saves, on the resulting free-kick. The Birds had possession but not too many good chances, Moey's 30th minute miss being one of them, and the opener would have to wait for a misguided pass from Myron Derzhko. Moey was waiting for that one, and ran it past the last defender before making the most of a difficult angle.
Reigsecker would soon have another important stop to make as
Bernie Egan was fed by Heng down the left side, in a move that had Mátyás Kokas retrospectively booked for his late takedown of the revitalized winger. The break wouldn't much alter the complexion of the game, as Reigsecker would again be called to action due to Chan again being tripped just outside the penalty area.
Bhavya Panigrahi went for the same top corner, and was met with the same save.
The referee was also making a habit of upgrading his punishments, as he flashed the yellow card at Ejnar Juul almost as an afterthought; Serpin wasn't satisfied with the Birds being just the one goal up, though, and made a double swap in the 60th minute:
Teo Chuan Yong and
Kalle ter Berg were off, and
Wu Jinglong and
Chu Xin Lee on. This definitely raised the creativity quotient, and Wu would wriggle free on the right flank seven minutes later, and
Bilal Mohammad Harun took the initiative to attack it at the near post for 2-0.
Odessa's resolve was finally flagging, and
Heng Dong Chu would come through rather more easily than he would have expected to in the first half, to chip a third over Reigsecker shortly afterwards. Wu would nearly come good too as Odessa were wilting out wide, and Drogomir Filipiuk would send Dariusz Kumorowski on as soon as he could, to counter the threat that the Chinese former international posed. This would be barely enough to slow the Birds, and after
Chan Ze Han rang a drive off the post, Grilled would be awarded a penalty as
Vikram Mudaliar pumped the ball into the arm of a grounded defender.
Well, if Odessa weren't going to win today, at least one of their players could claim some personal satisfaction, with Reigsecker denying
Bhavya Panigrahi a third time from a dead ball situation. One could have hardly bet against the Singaporean defender from the spot, but Panigrahi - perhaps affected by the earlier blocks - played it way too safe with his delivery down the middle. Reigsecker had feinted towards the left, but could pull back well in time to scoop the unconvincing shot up.
The Birds did manage a fourth through Mudaliar's direct dash into the box a couple of minutes later, which would be it as Filipiuk expended his remaining substitutes to little impact.
