Doha Downing
Malik Mauling
Grilled came away well beaten from their first ever trip to Qatar, as Doha's Dragons showed why they were top of league II.3, in contrast with Grilled who are next to bottom in the Singaporean equivalent. Grilled didn't put up any pretense at a competitive team, though, letting the 18 year-old
Foong Kok Chuan have a go at running their midfield. This didn't quite work, as expected, but Liehner was content to watch as the hosts' Malik Abed-Ibraheem eased past
Lim Chuan Heng in the Birds' defence to beat Bao-Tam from a sharp angle.
Last season's amateurish play in friendlies carried over, though at least this time Grilled could use youth as their excuse. Chuan Heng certainly got no help from Seng-Huat as he was left horribly exposed to the power of Abed-Ibraheem, and it was all he could do to bundle the striker over, somehow avoiding a card. Zaid Mostafa sent that one wide, but bin Othman put in a similar foul before one minute had passed, and this time Mostafa had the range worked out.
Grilled had no luck on the injury front either, as
Hu Huihong's hopes of establishing himself in Liehner's reckoning were stymied after a Dragons player slammed painfully into his back.
Fu Jun Chang was an unseemingly indifferent substitute, and did not seem to be bothered as the bearish Sebastian Ursa knocked in a cross-shot hybrid that troubled Bao-Tam mightily.
Hang Bao-Tam was a relative standout, the veteran goalkeeper appearing a new man after getting a run-out as an outfielder against The Void Deck. Seng-Huat's slowness made him of little help, and French import Loïc Lacroix would have scored had Bao-Tam not spread himself expertly in the 40th minute. He even caused Abed-Ibraheem to be booked, as he was checked quite physically by the forward when scrambling to a loose ball - and got it regardless.
Part of Kok Chuan's tuition was paid after the restart, as the young midfielder learnt a valuable lesson, that opponents are far more likely to close down space at the professional level. Foong actually did very well to skip past two players right in front of his own penalty area, but all his good work was for naught as he spent a long time turning around. Mostafa saw his change, kicked the ball out from under Foong's boot, and slammed it in at the near post.
More mistakes followed, and even Bao-Tam's renewed form was not enough to prevent Abed-Ibraheem from taking the ball around him for 4-0. When Wasim Gerayev found his way through unopposed right from the kickoff for the fifth goal, it appeared as if another cricket score was on the cards.
Grilled's young backups recovered admirably, though some of their assurance might have come from Ibraheem's controversial sending-off. The striker hustled to dispossess Chuancheng on the flank, and although he did catch the teenage winger on the foot, Chuancheng made a right meal of the challenge. An upset Ibraheem looked ready to confront the youngster, and was quickly guided off by his captain.
The loss of the focal point of their attack made the Dragons much easier to deal with, and Grilled gave up only one open shot, from which Mohammad Al-Rashid hit the bar, for the remainder of the match. Not that the tempo slowed, with Hjortlind felled in what appeared like retaliation for the Chuancheng incident. Mirchev went in hard on Abdeen Hussein the instant the game was restarted, but a long talking-to by the referee for all players concerned wisely kept the bad vibes from boiling over.
