Grilled Birds 4 - 0
Basf 
Basf Bash
Salah Off
There were few problems for Grilled Birds as they dismissed Argentine V.122 side Basf in the Bovag Cup Round of Sixteen, and they were further enjoying themselves thoroughly, as they registered the win. On another day, Grilled's airy approach might have seen them bitten, but Basf were not able to muster a concerted response on this occasion.
Basf had qualified second from Group A, with their only defeat coming against Finnish fourth division groupwinners Brändökungarna, who put three past them before late defiance by Bruno Miragaia. However, they were also coming off morale-raising wins, 2-0 in the league against Exjuventud, and a big 7-0 against Domojr in the Copa Zafiro caPiTAn_piLuSO. Brazilian club vice-captain Luiz Antonio Mazza definitely had the air of a man itching for a good battle as he led his teammates out, and Mauro Atamian would be dispatched to shadow
Chan Ze Han closely, as part of their masterplan.
That was an entirely sensible approach, but one that didn't exactly pay off, as Chan took all of seventeen minutes to carry on his scoring exploits from that against DragStar Club. Then again,
Chu Xin Lee was probably the one most responsible for that breakthrough, as he interrupted what should have been a routine clearance by former Costa Rican youth international fullback Diego Nuñez, before squaring the ball first-time into the box. Chan was hoping for just that, and followed up with his own one-touch half-volley past Nery Alberto Navarro.
The sharp, lethal passing exhibited then had certainly shaken the Argentines up, and it would be two for Grilled barely three minutes later, with
Moey Xin Seng getting in on the act. Despite being played on the left wing, with
Kalki Parvathaneni returning to right attack today, Moey would exert a considerable influence nonetheless, and Erwan Collomb would oft be in two minds as to whether to follow Moey on his many swaps towards the middle. Collomb would hand him off the Manuel Reyes in the 20th minute, which turned out to be the wrong choice, as Moey duly squeezed through Reyes and then Fukowski to unleash the shot.
Basf got their act together more tightly at that, though it was very probably too late. Grilled Birds would continue to create, but at least they were restricted to less clear-cut chances, for a time.
Mateja Jeftić would hit it from some thirty yards out in the 27th minute, and get it wide by a couple of metres, while
Sølve Lunde brushed the top of the crossbar with his header in the 35th. There would be a couple of cards dealt out around this period, Franco Bertellotti for deliberately holding up play to buy time to regroup, and
Salah Kamel for his meaty challenge from behind on Mazza.
The latter did disrupt Basf's concentration, so it would appear, as they pushed forward rather too hastily in an effort to get their own back. This opened room for
Chan Ze Han to force a magnificent save out of Navarro, as he let rip from the right side, and Basf seemed to have stabilized the situation with a deliberate foul some thirty metres out - but not quite, as Jeftić punished the cynicism with an incredible free-kick take.
That had it at 3-0 when half-time rolled along, which became four in the 56th minute, as
Chu Xin Lee went it himself. By far the most creative creator for the Birds today, Chu would take the direct route as Kalki waited for support after getting deep into the Basf penalty area on a winding dribble. Several of the Basf defenders evidently thought Chu was offside when he popped up to tuck it in at the far post, but replays would prove him solidly on.
Well, that would be it for Grilled, as they began taking it easy after Kalki and Chu had near-misses in the next few minutes, with
Salah Kamel putting in a superb early cross for the first one. Kamel would sadly have to leave the field in disgrace after a second booking, as he crumpled Atamian in striving to retrieve a short goal-kick following Mudaliar's miss in the 85th minute.
Mateja Jeftić tried for another free-kick goal in injury time, but Navarro would be ready on this occasion.
