Equal Eagles
Final Flurry
A ding-donger of a match ended all square as the SAS Eagles went out of their way to attack Grilled's new stand-in goalkeeper
Alvaro Silvera. The Birds had little choice but to respond in kind, and twice went ahead only for the hosts to set up an exhilarating finale.
It was an open secret that Grilled's Chilean custodian hadn't been in the best of form, which was made all the more evident when he miscued a simple goal-kick in the pre-match warm-up. Grilled attempted to draw the action away from their weak spot by holding the ball in the opposition half, and were a yard from getting ahead as the red-hot
Matthias Branbilla skipped the ball by the Eagles goal.
Grilled's worst fears came to pass, as a long ball downfield was shepherded towards the boundary by an uncertain-looking Talib, who didn't seem to want to play it across to his goalkeeper. That gave Faizal Saad a window to duck in and take the ball, and Silvera could do little about the businesslike finish by Subri bin Ramli.
That did not change Grilled's gameplan, and they intensified their search for goals. The equaliser came soon enough, and after 17 minutes
Ciro Penati raced clear on the wing to drop a faultless cross into the area. Mohd Safri sprang highest to claim a textbook conversion from the wing, not that any of the Grilled supporters minded the lack of originality.
SAS Eagles proved especially competent at counterpunching after significant Grilled moves, and they had a wonderful combination down the middle right from the kickoff. German forward Eike Koinig only had to apply himself as he waltzed in unhindered from the left, but ended up cursing himself for trying the spectacular and hitting it over.
Grilled came out well rested for the second half, perhaps other than Penati, who was a shade of his former self. Not to worry, as
Domenik Bögengang continued growing into his role as the Birds' flagship striker for the near future, and won acclaim by nudging the ball past Shizhou and lobbing Wolfram Pickart.
The Eagles however were not taking that lying down, and after two close shaves from Pero Meštrović, their sustained efforts realised a goal as Eike Koinig bypassed Crkvenjakov to slice a volley past Silvera, who should have done better.
With ten minutes to go, and everything still up in the air, Mohd Safri pulled out all the stops, and appeared to have cleared himself a free path to goal when he flattened a lingering Faizal Saad; It was too good to be true, and referee Fabrice Guesdon was first to run up and show him a yellow card.
The Eagles threw Fu Rongjin on for the injured Saad, while the Birds continued their less than subtle tactics to eke out a win. Their physical approach appeared justified when Penati, in a final burst of exertion, got some space down the right and delivered it into Bögengang's path. The German Number Nine responded with a cracking shot that looked like the winner.
SAS Eagles weren't yet beaten, however, and they threw bodies forward in the hope of regaining a share of the points. When Soh Yun Sze's free-kick was floated in, they had everyone bar him and the goalie in or around the Grilled penalty area. Faced with such numbers, Grilled struggled to gain control, and in the crush of bodies Talib swung his arm and hit an opponent square in the face.
That was a straight red card, but the following events weren't quite expected. The ensuing free-kick ended up cleared,
Ronny Behr curled an optimistic effort wide of the Eagles' goal, before Meštrović got third time lucky as he exhibited excellent control before leaving Silvera blameless with a superb last-minute leveller.
