Wised Up
Star-Studded Cast
Grilled played Manila club Wiser4Media FC, who had just been demoted from the Liga Pilipinas, as part of a season-end Singapore-Phillipines challenge involving eight teams from each side. The well-attended match also served as a testimonial for two longstanding servants of the club in
Hang Bao-Tam and
Lan Tuan-Mu, who received a minute of applause before kick-off.
They would however play no part in the match proper as Grilled fielded a fully-international starting lineup for the first time in club history, five of them local. This was just as well, as Wiser4Media brought a strong side with them, notably boy wonder Pepe Limbauan, who was on the same level as Grilled's own U-20 stars.
The Birds started off with the assurance that only wealth of experience brings, with the opening stages marked by thoughtful play from both sides. The pace picked up near the half-hour mark, with Jovert Cejar bundling fellow Filipino
Roberto Mausisa over and getting booked as a result. The first real attempt came from Wiser4Media's Julien Gontard, who blazed out of midfield to place a lob onto the roof of the goal-netting.
Han Lik-Tsun would be the unlikely scorer as Grilled responded to the challenge, with opposition goalkeeper Héctor Arbulú flubbing a headed attempt from
Kyou-Chull Kim. Lik-Tsun, who had followed the ball like a good striker, was on hand to stuff it in. Several Wiser4Media players appealed for offside to no avail, and Gontard was carded for blasting the ball in frustration.
The goal would be Lik-Tsun's last touch of the ball, as he substituted himself at half-time, along with Han Kok and Safrinho. Stanca, Bögengang and Lefébure were the replacements.
The visitors were not here simply to enjoy the atmosphere, and Valdir had to be called into action to claw Alessandro Sironi's wicked strike away in the 51st minute, after the Italian right-back had made a determined run;
Chow Ying Lee would show him how it's supposed to be done, as the Grilled forward raced past Győző Prokopp to finish Mohd Safri's cutback.
Grilled could have put themselves up a couple more in the endgame as Bögengang and Mausisa went through, but good positioning by Arbulú kept the score down.
