Chelmsford Clamper
Callewaert Boost
It didn't bode very well for Grilled Birds as they again failed to win, though given that they were against English Premier representatives IFK Chelmsford City, this might yet be overlooked. Chelmsford had like the Birds fallen at home to a counterattacking side - in their case Nifty United - on opening day, and one had to sense that their Georgian player-coach Andreas Ağazadə was not wholly satisfied with the outcome on this test either.
Chelmsford had not been too active upon their first-ever ascension to the top flight, with a S$4 million move for Italian stopper Dario Antonio Patteri being their final transfer before the end of the post-season; their biggest buy was however Belgian do-it-all Guus Callewaert from former Swiss national champions RAMMBOCK!, at a cut-price S$8.5 million just two-plus years after he had commanded a S$20.6 million fee from German club 1. FC BEast. Although not especially effective against the combination of English international Christian Sumner and Serbian wingback Viktor Živanović on Sunday, Callewaert would put his true value on full display today.
Still visibly stinging after their league collapse, the Birds would however stick with Panigrahi in defence today, though they moved Heng to his natural left wing position - not to his benefit, as it turned out. Grilled did at least have the consolation of going up against a similarly positive-minded squad, and despite having to face the likes of Northern Irish national icon Jim Whittaker in midfield, it was at least open for all.
Abd Hadi Taib Mazhud had never really let the club down since his transfer in, and he would be the Birds' most active attacker in the first half, beginning with his chasing down of Matthew Cartman in the ninth minute. Cartman thought he had more time than he had with back to goal, and would have his pocket picked just outside the penalty area. Abd Hadi's finish left much to be desired, though, as he pulled his shot badly wide as Andrew Barcelona tried to close.
For Chelmsford, their main focus would be the right flank, where Callewaert revelled in the overlapping opportunities afforded him by Maximilian Thieleke's agnosticism in coming inside. This combination was something that Heng was very ill-suited to confront, and Callewaert's overrunning him on the outside in the 17th minute was coming for a long time. The cross came in low and hard, and German striker Leroy Nadolski would duck in ahead of
Gilbert Webb, to tuck it past
Jānis Salmiņš first-time.
Grilled took just five minutes to claw it back, being no slouches down their own right side either.
Chu Xin Lee would be holding the fort against Richard Millwood for the day, but he would interchange cleverly with
Teo Chuan Yong to offer himself as a target then.
Chan Ze Han would go up for the header, and might well have gotten to it were it not for opposing skipper Jonathan Turone. Chu however was waiting, and his calm header was simply placed too well for Andrew Barcelona to reach, despite not having much power behind it.
The first half ended all square with both sets of midfielders largely neutralizing each other, although Teo in particular disappointed slightly, due to reading several potential breakthroughs wrongly. Nadolski continued to make Panigrahi uncomfortable, and it was a toss-up as to which team would find the second goal, before Heng showed his class in the 58th minute. He had been miserable spending much of his time tracking back before this, but there was no stopping him at full tilt, after he located a gap down the left.
Kalki Parvathaneni would then replace
Vikram Mudaliar as Bakhtiar aimed to provide more cover for his midfield, but none of that mattered as Callewaert magicked up an equalizer for Labud Dabović, barely three minutes after Kalki's entrance.
Moey Xin Seng had been doing some pressing too, but when somebody can drop a fifty-yard diagonal pass on a dime, there had to surely be nobody to blame.
This would cause the tempo to pick back up, with the Birds admittedly having cruised a little before Dabović's goal. Heng was, in his defense, usually quite effective going forward, and he would be in the thick of Grilled's next two chances. The first, from Teo, would go narrowly high, but
Chan Ze Han would not miss on the next try. Picking the ball up on the left side of the box after Heng's incisive dribbling, the Number Eleven would float across to the other side of the penalty area, before unleashing a left-footed strike just inside the post.
That was an exceptional finish from Chan's weaker foot, and Bakhtiar was not about to let it go to waste, and to that end put
Salah Kamel on for
Chu Xin Lee, with clear orders to help out in defence. Alas, the English hosts would be back level before Kamel could settle in. Callewaert was absolutely rolling now, and he would swing a wickedly-curving worldie from the head of the penalty area with Kamel almost still making his way on, past Salmiņš. Nothing the goalie could do with that either.
Grilled would look the more likely to get a late winner, granted, with Barcelona having to keep his wits about him, to parry
Kalki Parvathaneni's decent effort in the 83rd - especially after the slight deflection it took off a defender. Chelmsford were in real danger of capitulating in injury time with Chan masterminding a sustained Grilled assault, but they stuck it out for the point ultimately.
