PyrO Scorched
Korean Spice
Grilled regained some composure with an 0-8 romp over Division Five City team PyrO united, who had reached the second round of the Cup for the first time.
Notably, it was
Fan Xiuyu's first competitive start for the Birds, having being raised on a steady diet of friendlies since his transfer and debut as a substitute. He managed to score, making it an impressive two out of two.
PyrO were not expected to put up too much resistance, after scraping through the first round in their fifth attempt, by outplaying a ten-man Woodlands Young Boys side. They sportingly let in the opener by the sixth minute, as
Björn Olsson walked through after some hesitant defending.
The PyrO players had gotten it together by the time
Quah Han Kok tried to take over the show in the tenth minute with a solo raid, but then fell apart again in good time, as
Kyou-Chull Kim netted his first ever double for the Birds.
The hosts' fitness was beginning to be exposed, and 33 year-old goalkeeper Mohammad Rafeek strained a thigh muscle in racing to a loose ball. His reduced mobility allowed
Safri bin Mohamad to collect a cheap goal off a poor shot, as Rafeek couldn't get down in time.
It was understood that the match was out of their hands when the second half started, but the PyrO players were strangely better for it, perhaps because of the reduced pressure. They defended a free-kick very professionally, and defender Loh Ho Chee even denied Safrinho several times, until he got booked for being a fraction of a second too late.
Grilled were not done, though, and
Niculae Stanca dashed in to score his second Cup goal in as many games, before
Fan Xiuyu got the sixth with a cool finish after some help from
Edvaldo Mourão. Cai Chongli then became PyrO's next casualty, as he fell heavily and had to be ferried off, with Halim bin Saleh the substitute.
That sorry incident was quickly banished from the heads of Grilled's fans, who reserved a huge cheer for Han Kok, after he put a 74th minute penalty away. The Grilled legend had endured a goalless season, despite nine appearances, having gone without scoring since the Cup defeat to Volta Neda two seasons ago.
Safrinho would round the day off on an auspicious note with a snappy shot, which takes him to joint-top of the Grilled scoring stakes together with Mohd Safri, on three goals.
