Mithril Mail
Kaverin Kan
Grilled bowed out of the Singapore Cup to Division Four side Mithril Arrows, as they rued the loss of Rotteveel. Not willing to risk sole remaining striker Subri, the Birds went with a front three of Salieri, Mirchev and Lihai, and they did not disappoint as two of the three enjoyed their first goals for the club.
With MacKinnon's form leaving much to be desired, it was down to Branbilla and Han Kok to do the business in the middle, but Branbilla suffered mightily on the wet surface as yet another afternoon downpour happened. After several failed attempts to stay on his feet, the Swede finally bit the bullet and took a break to change his studs.
The home side were not in a generous mood, this being their first foray into the fourth round, and redoubled their efforts to break through in the middle. Spanish right winger Mauro Rojas Sánchez was often free as Chuancheng and Darong were not the most willing of defenders, and Mithril deserved their goal as their brave German striker Benedik Denien risked limb if not life as he dove at one of Sánchez's low crosses; Torsson's boot barely missed his head, as he directed it into the netting.
Grilled were at least not completely out of it, and they had their moments despite not looking too familiar with the 3-4-3 formation Liehner chose. Things finally came together in the 39th minute as Salieri unexpectedly displayed telepathic understanding with Han Kok, with the veteran curling the ball sweetly into space as the Italian parted two defenders with a determined run. There was still some work to do as he was confroned by Julien Sévin, but a little chip put the ball over the French keeper.
The hosts regained their lead before half-time, with Boris Kaverin ignoring an unconvincing challenge from Torsson to score. There was a short altercation between the Swede, who maintained that he had been bumped, and Valdir, who felt that he could have stood his ground, but it didn't change the fact of the matter.
The team talk during the break did wonders, and Mithril found themselves on the back foot at Grilled made progress down the wings. Two-time Young Player of the Season
Hu Jianyong kept up his scoring habit, as the home side discovered the touch that allowed him to become Grilled's third-highest scorer last season. There looked to be no danger when he got the ball in mid-stride just outside the box, but deft control took him past Santilocchi, and his weaker right leg poked it into the far corner.
Grilled were then given a penalty kick in the 55th minute, after Chuancheng went down in suspicious circumstances during a corner kick. There were a few hands on him, but surely nothing that would have caused his legs to go from under him. In any case, Grilled still had a spot kick to take, and with both Rotteveel and Subri out, Lihai volunteered for the duty. That took some balls for a new arrival with the game finely poised, but the Taiwanese lad had ice in his veins as he sent Sévin sprawling the wrong way.
Ciro Penati then replaced Mirchev after the Bulgarian was clattered while leading the line, and the raw pace in Grilled's attack gave Mithril plenty to worry about. Penati duly won a free-kick as the defence saw no alternative but to bring him down, and Lihai nearly made himself an instant hero as he swung the free-kick at the far post. This time, however, the goalkeeper had it covered.
Just as it seemed that Grilled were through, Israeli forward Binyamin Cohen showed very good timing when arriving at a cross from the left side. Branbilla appeared to have the situation under control, but Cohen gained great elevation with his long run-up, and got his head over Branbilla's to equalize.
With the game back in the balance, Quah was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card after he went right into José Fuenleal, probably because the referee factored the slippery surface into his decision. Victory belonged to Mithril, though, as Boris Kaverin got the golden goal after seven minutes of extra time to put his team through.
