Paradise Lost
Final Visit
Chow Ying Lee's blazing hot streak continued as he raided another half-hour hat-trick to put Grilled in the finals of the first edition of the SCC (Individual) tournament, while goalkeeper
Dexter Stacey was content for once too, as the team kept its first clean sheet for twelve matches.
The already-eliminated Heaven Skys, whom Grilled have met once before in the Cup two seasons ago to the fortnight, were not exactly up for their dead rubber, especially after having lost their last four league matches, and Grilled showed little sympathy by hitting their first of the night barely two minutes in - Chow stretched their left defence with an astonishing explosion of pace, and
Paolo Iten inserted himself into the opening to receive a free shot, which he put away.
The two stars of the weekend combined again in the 13th minute in another frantic finish, and there was even time for Chow to be booked, and Slavcho to take breaths away with a magical lob onto the roof of the net. It was all Chow all the time for the next fifteen minutes, as the former U-20 forward, brimming with well-founded confidence, absolutely tore Skys' backline to shreds.
There was no defending against a bicycle kick such as the one Chow pulled out of his hat in the 19th minute, which had goalkeeper Shahrulnizam bin Talib managing a helpless shrug. No-one could pick Chow's far more straightforward run in the 27th minute, either, though, with defender cum midfielder Chew Siong Woon in two minds whether he was his responsibility. Chow didn't give the youngster much time to decide, and jinked his way past before topping up his third.
With Grilled virtually qualified for the final, being four to the good, the fixture dissolved into a training ground display, which however led Heaven Skys to the best idea they have had thus far. Sweeping down the middle in numbers, they asked questions of Grilled's ad-hoc defence, and Aizal bin Ashaari thought he had won a penalty after he was stopped by
Alex Fonseca's thigh. The referee was insistent that he had flung himself over it deliberately, however, and Aizal got only a booking for his pains.
The unusually active
Slavcho Tzonkov got the goal he clearly wanted early in the second half, and the game completely cooled off after that, with the only high points being Wen Xiaohua's yellow for a careless tackle, and top-rated national midfield prospect Mohd Rosedy bin Mohd Nor's exciting break, which he wasted by waiting too long for support.
