Boys Beached
Behry Good
The Birds returned to the second division in style, as they walloped Sunny Beach Boys with nine goals without reply to book a spot in II.2. Though the hosts had been fairly unimpressive and inactive in recent weeks, the margin still came as a surprise to followers from both camps.
The last time the two sides met, Grilled were flying high in the S-League, while Sunny Beach Boys were finding themselves in Division Four; despite that, the Boys nearly forced Grilled into extra time then. This time round, they capitulated with nary a whimper as the Birds scored almost at will.
Filipino defender
Roberto Mausisa made his debut at leftback for the visitors, while
Matthias Branbilla was reinstated in midfield despite being on the transfer list for some time. This meant that Grilled were serious about getting a result, and Penati came close in the third minute with a selfish strike from some distance.
There was no mistaking the direction of the game after five minutes had gone, with Sunny Beach Boys fighting fires all over. They attempted to press Grilled back, but were faced with a technically far superior midfield, and couldn't stop the steady flow of attacks. Grilled had to score eventually, and
Domenik Bögengang did the honours with a measured finish in the 17th minute.
Rotteveel then set-up the fast-rising Mohd Safri for a commanding headed goal with a corner to the far post, and then got his fourth qualification goal by keeping a level head and shuffling the ball through a packed defence, before being replaced by Safrinho. Even the defenders began to get into the groove, as Mausisa smacked one in on his debut, before Behr followed with another.
It was a party in the away stands as the home fans glumly contemplated being five down with less than half the match gone, with some heading for the exits before half-time. The interval brought Grilled favourite Quah on for last week's hero
Erik Back, and more of the same from the team, with
Ronny Behr showing his underrated shooting skills with a mighty effort from outside the box.
Bögengang looked disappointed not to have added to his tally as he was replaced by Torsson after sixty minutes, and he was spotted with a wry smile after
Ronny Behr completed a natural hat-trick in the 71st minute, the English defender's first for Grilled, but his career third.
The Sunny Beach Boys raised their game slightly after Shan Thik Chin was injured by
Gleb Dorogan, who protested his admittedly deserved booking; this led to some tit-for-tat challenges that threw Grilled momentarily off their stride, and
Ciro Penati was withdrawn in the 74th minute despite Grilled having no substitutions left. Clearly, a seven-goal lead was considered safe enough by Han.
Quek Pin Leng, who escaped censure for his bump on Penati, was soon carded for a reckless high kick, but that was a mere footnote as Grilled cruised to victory.
Martin Torsson made it eight after swinging and missing an absolute sitter, recording Grilled's 2000th competitive goal, while Mohd Safri embellished his statistics with a final late goal against the by-now disinterested opposition goalkeeper.
