Dolphins Downed
Ho-hum
All went to form as Grilled Birds brushed aside semi-pro opposition in the first round of the Singapore Cup. Martinsson and Hjortlind warmed up their guns for the season ahead with a hat-trick apiece, while
Dani Spirig collected his first ever competitive goal. Paullin, Noor Yadah and Tuan-Mu completed the rout.
The opener was long in coming, as the outclassed Pulau Ubin Dolphins made a human cordon around their penalty area. Grilled went wide with some testy long range shots, before Hjortlind finally sliced apart the packed defence with his strong dribbling. Force not skill was what did it, as the firebrand forward barged past the muscled Shen Yuan-Feng and tapped the ball to the right of Shen Yuan-Feng in goal.
Spirig had to wait ten more minutes to open his accounts, when
Au-Yong Siu-Yue won the ball off leftback Zulkiflee bin Mohamed Shukri in defence. Leaving the others flatfooted, Spirig ran forward with no fear of offside, given the numbers at the back. Siu-Yue promptly fired an accurate cross to him, and a light touch doubled the lead.
Encouraged, Siu-Yue tried it again as he attempted to catch Xi Zhi-Jun in possession. He bungled horribly this time, taking the man down and twisting his own knee in the process. The yellow card was flashed without hesitation by the referee. Grilled's fortunes improved however, and before the half-time whistle went, Grilled were four goals ahead. Main marksman
Ola Martinsson and
Lorenz Paullin found their targets. Martinsson should have had one more after he pressed forward as his marker Ke Fai-Kit slowed down clutching his leg, but he misjudged Noor Yadah's speedy cross and glanced the ball into the stands.
The Dolphins were revitalised after the break, and shouted on by the home crowd had Grilled on the ropes at the beginning of the second period. Their best opportunity came when Spirig pushed their captain Achalendra Thomas down, but cries for a penalty were waved aside and a free-kick right on the edge given instead. Thomas blasted it into the four-man wall, and Martinsson cleared well.
Aznan Noor Yadah switched wings with Siu-Yue as the fancy took them, and one such exchange left Xi Zhi-Jun confused. Noor Yadah went into full flight and rounded the cramped central line, finishing off at close range. Hjortlind's hattrick materialised in the 69th minute, with a fast double - the first a ranged rocket, the second a messy affair.
Ola Martinsson's own treble was yet to come, but come it did as Hjortlind unselfishly gave the ball to him for an easy finish. Martinsson then had the ball on the penalty spot as the Dolphins' central defender Qin Yung-Koh engaged in some heavy shoving in the box. A cheeky chip made it nine to nothing, before
Lan Tuan-Mu adjusted it to double digits.
