Phoenixes Sent Packing
Safrinho Hero
In a match billed as a clash of the Jurong Bird Park, Grilled squeaked past IV.23 leaders Wandering Phoenixes, who had won all seven competitive matches in this season before this, scoring 28 goals while letting in just two.
Phoenixes lined up in their trusty 4-5-1 again, which had gotten them narrow victories in the last two Cup rounds, while Grilled reverted to a 3-4-3 after sacrificing their third defender for some time. Transfer-listed
Ronny Behr made his fiftieth start for the Birds, and despite it possibly being his last match, put in a thoroughly professional shift.
There was no goalmouth action of note in the entire first half, unfortunately, as the Phoenixes decided that caution was the best policy, and Grilled's young forwards were sluggish. Nothing went right for
Tian Yonghang in particular, as his first touch fell to pieces.
This less-than-entertaining spectacle ended on a sour note when Tian tripped and flattened Phoenixes' young defender Aizal bin Mohd Aziz four minutes from the end of the half, which required Mazlan Ezrain Shamsudin to replace his teammate.
The first half was difficult watching for everyone concerned, though the home fans would probably have felt that the scoreline suited them more. Grilled's coach was not too pleased, and withdrew Stanca and Mausisa for two extra midfielders in Josefsson and Mourão respectively.
It worked as expected, as Grilled began to get a few more sniffs at goal with their additional possession. There was much anticipation when
Marc Pujolràs lined up a free-kick from just outside the penalty area in the 57th minute, but he narrowly missed the near post with his curler.
Pujolràs decided to float it in when he got a similar opportunity five minutes later, and this change of tack paid off as
Yvan Lefébure got on the end of it and flicked it onwards. Safrinho had attacked the back post at just the right time, and calmly chested the ball down before slamming it into a gaping goalmouth.
The hosts, seeing that time was short, pushed for survival immediately from the restart, and nearly set up a free-kick goal of their own. A couple of dummy runs left Belgian centreback Nathan Van Malderen with a pass beckoning invitingly, but he just couldn't get to it in time.
That was the last clear-cut opportunity, and the Phoenixes would come up short for the first time this season, with a long-term injury to French winger Quentin Nicolas adding to their woes.
