All For One
Quah Scare
With Rotteveel unavailable, Grilled defaulted to a defensive 4-5-1 against 4everton at The Cooking Pot, threw on an eager
Tan Meng Guang, and placed their hopes on Subri and Penati. The Italian winger might well have answered the fans' prayers when he slid on to Branbilla's sixth-minute lob over the defence, but could only drag the ball wide of relieved goalie Zang Tat.
Grilled were always in the driving seat, but were stunned in the tenth minute. From their first corner kick of the game, 4everton's Weng Kai-Ge smashed in a very hard cross that Talib could only help on to the far post. There, lanky player-coach Hu Dan-Thu happily put his full weight behind the header, and sent the ball whistling into the back of the net.
The visitors saw that as a sign to sit back, and Grilled had much trouble getting close enough to test Zang. They finally got a free-kick in the 27th minute as a hyped-up Meng Guang was pulled back by a 4everton midfielder, and Subri showed that he knew a thing or two about dead balls too to equalise, even with regular taker Rotteveel missing.
Tan Meng Guang became even more encouraged by his contribution, and his never-say-die attitude rattled several of the opposition players. In particular, Ang Ping Wen certainly didn't expect Tan to continue his pressing so far up the field, and was relieved of the ball at the edge of the box. A seemingly perfect rising shot came off the bar, sadly, denying the 17 year-old a dream debut goal.
There was still a match to be won, and Grilled looked no closer to winning it some twenty minutes into the second half, with all they had to show being an effort by Quah that was bravely blocked by Zang. Eventually, all their hard work did pay off, as Darong's slick left-footed drive went into the roof of the net.
This forced 4everton to come out of their shell, and they might have surprised even themselves with how they managed to push Grilled back. Things might have been different had left-wing livewire Kwok Min Rong not taken a knock, and especially if the steady Zang Tat hadn't injured his knee while running to boot a stray ball into touch.
Substitute trainee goalkeeper Huang Renyu was barely ready for the big stage, and his inexperience immediately showed when Penati lobbed in a cross right from the throw-in. Huang was caught in two minds whether to come out for it, and ended up standing nowhere as Subri mercilessly met it and nodded it past him for 3-1.
Huang's misery was not yet complete, as
Quah Han Kok elected to go for the shot despite being a long distance from goal. The less-than-impressive grounder was headed right for Huang, but in an indescribable blunder, the 4everton stand-in managed to let it between his legs.
It was fortunate perhaps that he had come on so late, preventing a comprehensive humiliation, though Quah didn't have it all his way as he was hacked on the shin seconds after his goal. That would be the end of the match for the Grilled vice-captain, as Mirchev came on to collect a few minutes of game time.
