Penya Pegged Back
Two For Tian
Spanish Division Four side Penya Perika were beaten 5-2 by the Birds in a friendly played at The Cooking Pot, with
Tian Yonghang starting as team captain at the behest of his comrades, and leading by example with two first-half goals.
Valdir made a seldom-seen midweek appearance after being rested on Sunday, and might as well have been in the stands for all that the "Arboleros" did - they have won just one of their eight friendly games so far this season. They cut a fine figure in their traditional away colours of dark blue with a light blue vertical stripe down the middle, but the same could not be said about their defence.
Edvaldo Mourão put in his claim for more minutes as he went into overdrive early on, and nearly created the first goal when he overlapped
Lee Han Lai down the left side and scooped in a cross that was redirected over Penya's goalkeeper, Gonzalo Ipenza. Only quick thinking by a defender saved the day that time.
Grilled gradually strengthened their grip on the match, and
Tian Yonghang was the main beneficiary as most of the balls in the final third were directed towards him. Perhaps aware that he was expected to make things happen, he dug the ball wide to make a little space for a shot in the 16th minute, and looked surprised when it actually did fly into the net.
The celebrations were slightly over-the-top, and would be repeated in four minutes after a brilliant dummy by Safrinho let the ball go through to Tian. Safrinho would go for it himself later on, if only because the star man was recovering on the sidelines after a crunching tackle, and made it 3-0 by the 27th minute.
Things were going as well as could be expected for the hosts, which led to Valdir being withdrawn at half-time, and the local pair of Tian and Safrinho in the 60th minute. Tian made it a point to forcibly install the armband on
Ângelo Cunha Simões, as the Portuguese looked on in mock horror.
25 year-old
Lim Chuan Heng tasted the joy of scoring after eight long seasons for the Birds, as he found himself unmarked after a corner was cleared and sent right back. The defender searched frantically for somebody to pass it to, but with no options open had to lump it towards goal - and he succeeded.
He would give away a dangerous free-kick later in the game, but even that contributed to Grilled's tally as it was mopped up and triggered a counterattack down the right.
Chan Woon Jin was the extra man then, and did well with his chip over Ipenza.
While
Zheng Lihai's graft could not be criticised, his craft left much to be desired as he blasted embarassingly wide after doggedly chasing down a loose ball to set himself up. Penya would get two consolation goals through Pepe Salerno and Agustín Zapatero in the dying minutes, with Simões optimistically angling for a last-gasp penalty, only to be booked for simulation.
