Chasers Returned
Belief Restored
In need of some morale boosters to distract from their inevitable heavy defeats, Tian would accept a one-off exhibition game against the newly-refounded Shadow Chaser(R) SC. In at least its sixth incarnation, they had shared II.1 with the Birds for three seasons in days of yore, but had not crossed paths since. The hosts' head coach Ganesh Bhaskar was not out for results, it had to be said, with their premier signings such as Finnish goalkeeper Juuso Tuovinen sitting this one out.
That left Number Eighteen Ng Kiong Lee as their biggest name at left forward, where he was well-poised to receive passes from captain Octavius Dong. With the Birds running a strong midfield of Moey, Teo and Bilal, however, without mentioning
Chan Ze Han facing Dong down on the wing, it was always going to be tough for the Chasers. Indeed, Grilled would reprise their blitz from their earlier league match, as Gan Yi Shun batted
José Luiz Velho's hopeful third-minute attempt back outside, only for
Chia Kwang Tse to return it immediately, and
Prokop Mottl to force it past the still-recovering Gan.
Grilled would have plenty of pent-up frustration pending their latest defeat against Moeinsingapore, and the seniors were only too eager to set a good example, in a 3-5-2. This had
Aw Keng Chuan do time as sweeper, but the reduced manning up top didn't matter given how commanding the team was otherwise.
Bilal Mohammad Harun latched onto a through ball and made it 2-0 without much difficulty in the ninth minute, while Mottl would find another goal in the 24th, as he bent it neatly in at the far post, on the volley off Teo's helpful lob.
Five minutes later, it would be a clear penalty as Velho got flattened by Azri Ghani in the box, and
Bhavya Panigrahi outwitted Gan at his right post, on a slow approach; Ghani would escape a card, perhaps with the referee recognizing that his side were being punished enough already. A Mottl hat-trick looked on the cards as the Czech frontman rounded Gan after 38 minutes, but Vinod Limaye hacked it off the line, and
Chan Ze Han's attempt to profit from the chaos failed with his effort sailing slightly high.
Well, it was not as if the Chasers were coming back from four down in this state, but they would improve for the second half with Phang Wee Chi displaying some iron in midfield. This combined with a slow start had Grilled wait until the 64th minute before Velho could threaten Gan again with a diving header, upon which the game had to be stopped for a high boot from Dong, who earned the first yellow card as a result. The free-kick would come off the wall, but Ghani unwisely made to dribble his way out of trouble, and would be taught a lesson by Chan, who dispossessed him before slotting it home for the fifth.
One more goal would be due, as Bilal struck a flat corner kick, that reached
Lim An Keng at the far post - where he crashed it in off said upright. Velho would then miss a sitter, before the incoming
Mohd Marzuki Khairul, who had entered together with
Enrique Baena with ten minutes remaining, had one saved spectacularly by Gan.