Coasting Through
Deputy Joe
Grilled cruised into the sixth round by overwhelming Clementi-based West Coast FC 6-1 in front of almost seventy thousand spectators in their arena. The side accomplished their mission with a minimum of fuss, unlike the fingernail-chewing fourth round performance at shoot'n'save, with a brace within ten minutes by
Joe Stern steadying the squad. Relegated to scrabbling for Cup appearances despite being integral in Grilled's push for promotion last season, Stern stretched his well-rested legs as he galloped past West Coast's central defender Lin Yuh-Sheng, displaying little loss of pace in his well-used feet. Barely four minutes were on the clock as he proceeded to prod the ball under journeyman keeper Fei Soon-Hoong. Five minutes later, he read Kolesov's intentions well and put Grilled two up.
West Coast conceded quite a few corners as they sought to blunt Grilled's edge, and from one of these
Zhan Ju-Hau struck the angle between bar and post. Paullin, suggesting a knack for positional awareness, was best placed to take advantage and hammered the loose ball in. Zhan was second time unlucky two minutes later when he surged past Turkish defender Abdullah Sönmez after some shoulder charging, and his strong shot shook the post.
West Coast had American veteran Mikey Dowdy enter the game after speedy right winger Lan Chi-Trung couldn't stand straight after a bad fall. Skipper and star Richard Andreasson was left to carry his side, which was now skewed towards his flank. Grilled made their task even more difficult as Martinsson was the beneficiary of more hard running from the iron-lunged Stern. Martinsson might have made it five by half-time, but his flick right before the whistle bounced off the crossbar.
Paullin sniffed at a second goal as he let rip from the touchline, when a straightforward lob to the far post should have done the trick. He did at least find the side-netting. West Coast FC did make it 4-1 when nippy forward Niklas Ehnlius, who enjoyed a spell with legendary Indian side ravi super 11, predicted the flight of Andreasson's cross under pressure correctly. He escaped the attentions of Tuan-Mu and nodded a light header that Harlow couldn't reach, another black mark against the young goalie.
