Lost LuoRe
Midfield Productivity
Grilled dispatched IV.9 mainstays LuoRe at their The Kopitiam straightforwardly, though with a near full-strength side out of deference to the hosts' midfield abilities.
Weng Seng-Huat was called upon for the third time his season due to Árva's injury, but had little to do.
The Birds got the measure of LuoRe after a cagey start, and Han Kok's eye for a pass went on display as Subri made an intelligent diagonal run. The ball arrived in the gap between the centerbacks, and Grilled's Malaysian striker sent it past LouRe keeper Attila Puhl with one touch.
Grilled's central midfielders then took turns to score, with MacKinnon making space for himself after some very neat short-range passes in the 23rd minute. Branbilla instead used sheer speed to outrun a flatfooted Sharif Rashid four minutes later, and finished from a tight angle.
The pick of this bunch would probably be vice-captain
Quah Han Kok's solo effort, after he cut out a hesitant pass on the left side. Quah then weaved his way past no less than three men into the LuoRe box, before delicately chipping the ball over Puhl into his net.
The home side upped the tempo in a last-ditch attempt to turn the game around from the second half kick-off, and this did give Grilled some cause for concern. Jianyong blatantly blocked Malichi from taking a quick free-kick in a show of bad sportsmanship, and nearly had his nose rubbed in it after Juan Luis Gómez nearly scored after it was retaken.
LuoRe couldn't maintain the pace, and it was left to the Birds to tie up the loose ends through
Maikel Rotteveel, who collected two classic poacher's goals. If not for misses by Subri and Quah prevented Grilled from flattering themselves more than they had.
