Fleeting Farewell
Disappointing Send-off
The ten thousand or so Grilled fans who made their way down to the sell-out Herron Arena expected a worthy postscript to Aznan's departure, but instead endured a low-energy showing that was charmed only to have conceded three from the league leaders.
Morale was at a low ebb after the shutout loss against FC RaZer Infernus, and the inclusion of an extra defender indicated a side low on confidence.
Luis Alcántara fielded himself to steady the side and put in the more experienced Rottman to help just in front of Bona, but Herron's Bengtsson made a mockery of that with the assurance of a player on top of his day. It might have meant little as Grilled's backline just about held, but then the first goal came.
Herron's local ex-internationals had a synergy born of many matches together against the best the world had to offer, and not many of those teams could have stopped the artistic finish as Bengtsson's wonderful ball over the defence left Chit-Fu with a few seconds to capitalize. American rightback Dean Blevins looked out of place as Aznan roared at him, but Martinsson didn't get a lock on and bent his effort wide of the net.
As national goalkeeper Abd Rauf Mohd Nadzir screamed at his defence, Herron advanced with minimal fuss up the left with Pedro Laguardia leading the line. Grilled's midfield was sadly stranded having wagered on the previous attack's longevity, and Wai-Ming needed no persuasion to dart behind Bona and poke in a second.
That might have been the worst of it, but a moumentous task was made impossible as Grilled's defence got some shut-eye despite the furious imprecations of Alcántara, the only person left awake as Herron moved at speed again. Expecting to run down the clock and return to the sancity of the dressing room, Grilled were decapitated as the tall Spaniard Laguardia was let through by two men before he bombed the goal with a short-range mortar of a lob.
Herron's game plan had worked to perfection, and they had the game on strings in the second half as Grilled were likewise not eager to seek further humiliation. Wai-Ming's feint was good for a fourth in the 61st minute as he swerved and blasted away from point blank, but
Clair Harlow twitched the correct way and barely deflected the certainity.
Grilled improved with some brilliant dribbling by Aznan, now despairing of salvaging anything from his final game for his mother club. He lured Dean Blevins into a late tackle, disqualifying him from the title decider against Team Singapore with his third yellow of the season. Aznan's last burst of glory took shape as a courageous run that provoked the entire Herron defence, but Swiss defender Linus Rossler finally ended that bright thirty seconds ignominiously.
