Quiet As A Forest
It's All Bögengang
German striker
Domenik Bögengang made it his second hat-trick in a row and his fourth in the league this season, to help Grilled crush heimu XI 0-6 at Blackwood Field and secure another go in II.2 for the Birds. The home side's Brazilian stand-in goalkeeper, Anésio Lemons, had a forgettable outing, while his countryman at the other end barely had to move a muscle all game.
Blackwood Field was filled to near-capacity as their fans were confident of victory after seeing their team beat the likes of Arrogancae, newbies are newbies, BDSM FC and seluraralc in their four latest league matches at home. Grilled had other ideas, though, and their packing the midfield, together with a bad day at the office for heimu's players, saw the hosts being slowly driven back.
Lemons was sharp in the beginning of the game as he smothered an unexpected effort by
Yvan Lefébure, and the final outcome could have been very different had
Safri bin Mohamad been sent off for an ugly swipe at Seah Kwang Ping's legs in the 28th minute. Safri managed to stay on the pitch, while Seah had to be stretchered off, with rested Italian defender Rocco Zannoni moving in.
While heimu XI should have been strengthened by that substitution, that was not how it played out, as the free-scoring
Domenik Bögengang soon dribbed his way in to plant the ball past Lemons. The crowd had yet to recover from their silence, when Lefébure was played in by
Chow Ying Lee's backheel, and picked his spot to make it two-nil.
It was frustrating to watch for the home supporters, as Grilled continued controlling possession into the second half, and loud boos were reserved for referee Thor Engen after he awarded a penalty against Lemons, for impeding a Grilled player in the six-yard box. Bögengang didn't make a mistake, hammering it into the top left corner.
Do-it-all Bögengang then turned provider as he delivered a corner kick to Lefébure to score from, and followed up by proving that he could do that too -
Erik Back often found space against heimu's former U-20 leftback Yap Jing Hin, and Bögengang took a risk with a low diving header that paid off handsomely. That goal took his league tally to seventeen, six ahead of second-placed Yang Hongxin from newbies are newbies, and the highest tally in II.2 since Adrián Herrero of mist finished with nineteen, three seasons ago.
Bögengang could have gotten closer to that as he lined up a free-kick after Arnošt Konupka was booked for petulance, only for Lemons to pick it out of the air with his long reach. Bögengang simply shrugged and floated the free-kick next time he got one, leaving
Gleb Dorogan to finish it from close range to underline an emphatic victory.
