Sun Doesn't Shine
Hjortlind Histrionics
Sunshine United were left less cheery than usual after Grilled smashed eight past them to advance to the fourth round of the Cup, even without the rested
Maikel Rotteveel, who complained of feeling dizzy right before kick-off.
Ulf Hjortlind was called upon to toil in the hot sun instead, and the 39 year-old was rewarded with his first goal in four seasons.
Grilled's sprightly young wingers did most of the heavy lifting, and
Hu Jianyong showed just what a willing runner could do as he raced from the half-way line in support of Branbilla. The Swiss midfielder was more than happy to give Hu the ball, and Hu repaid his faith by lashing an unstoppable effort past Aw Wee Chang in the Sunshine goal.
Branbilla polished off an assist from Han Kok two minutes later, while Jianyong would score again in short order, this time from a botched free-kick by Hjortlind. Chuancheng thought quickly and pushed the ball wide left, where Jianyong had all the time in the world to place it beyond Aw yet again.
Subri then bulldozed his way through and fired one so hard that Aw couldn't keep it out despite having his body in the way. Hjortlind however spoilt Grilled's rhythm by cutting down Li Wen hsien with a bad-tempered tackle, forcing the local part-timer off the field.
Another reason for the slowdown could have been the infernal heat, and conserving energy for more important battles after going four up is indeed understandable. Quah in particular was down to walking pace, but his footballing intelligence allowed him to continue dictating play.
The game finally revved back into life with fifteen minutes remaining, as the clouds came out. Now attacking towards the shade, Grilled were much more eager to push upfield, and Subri needed no prompting to get on the end of Chuancheng's keen cross from the right.
MacKinnon then hit one of his feared rockets right into the middle of the net to make it six, before Hjortlind celebrated his 71st Cup goal, which had been some time in coming. Branbilla added another as Sunshine United were careless from the kick-off, and slow to recover.
It all ended on a slightly sour note with a cynical challenge from Mohd Amran bin Aziz bringing similar retaliation from Chuan Heng, but none of that changed what truly mattered, which was the scoreline.
