Ha Hits Heights
Grilled Birds' Supporter Week Trophy fortunes ebbed and dipped together with Hong Kong defender
Ha Qicai's goalscoring prowess, as the 28 year-old raised his game substantially on the promise of a possible callup to the national squad. Swedish V.537 team Rörtängernas AIK provided an easy introduction to the tournament for the Birds, leaking nine goals with Ha and
Chad Thach firing hat-tricks home; Glenn Lövblom had some thinking it would remain competitive after he answered Ha's 12th minute strike within seconds, but it turned out to be a total bluff.
Just-promoted Finnish VI.729 champions could not resist Ha's charms either, as he headed
Federico Parada's corner into the net 14 minutes in, before a rampage from open play in the 77th minute was followed by Rafa Manzanero's reducer, and then a second yellow for Juha Heiskala. This stood in stark contrast to
Gústav Thoroddsen, who despite opening the 3-1 win, would be entirely ineffective elsewise, and in the following games. Spanish II.1 former Copa Esmeralda holders lucer stormed the Birds in the second half despite Parada and
Joe Reece giving them a 2-1 lead at half-time, with
Lim An Keng's cluelessness in defence helping them to end it 2-5.
Czech III.9 contestants FC Baník Hodonín were next up as
Tian Yonghang stuck to the narrow formation that he had adopted against lucer to try and tip possession, and although his tactics were sound, Grilled's finishing wasn't. German Number One Ünal Eğilmez had quite a bit to do with that too, as he stopped late attempts from La Face and Thoroddsen, after
Chad Thach had dragged the Birds back to 4-5 from complicated free-kick workings.
The Buns went two from four too, as they first dismissed Italian VII.891 representatives PmB Team after a 68th minute penalty was put away by
Vitaliy Efendiev, with
Ho Ah Kian then adding a free-kick. There would be no clean sheet streak in this competition, however, as Danish III.9 club Gundestrup Boldklub would have Samer Jihad slip it past
Gilberto Sorondo, in the next game.
That would happen too with German VI.268 team FC Bravo 2021, who waited patiently by sitting and waiting too, before relying on Abraham Akowuah to pick on a rare lapse in the Buns' backline passing.
Prakash Bhujbal tried to set the record straight from an excellent counter up the right wing a few minutes later but overran the ball, and Sorondo would have to face down Erik Persson from the spot a little later; it went wide, but Farmer Bunnies just could not find the equalizer.
It got more interesting against Grilled International's old league nemesis Shaka Zibby, as the Buns prevailed 2-1 over the H.I. IV.51 outfit, thanks to some late heroics from Ho. Shaka seemed to have won it off Bert Maes' speculative pick-off in the eighth minute, but
Ho Ah Kian sprinted onto a counter in the 86th minute to level matters - before doing it again in stoppage time, as the South Africans tried to salvage the match.
Grilled International managed just the one win for themselves, which came after a 1-4 defeat to two-time Nicraraguan Challenger Cup winners NicOmega, currently in II.4. NicOmega would play with ten men for most of the game after winger Béla Szücs got sent off for provocation in the 18th minute, but that didn't stop them from taking International to the cleaners.
Safari bin Hj Jali was International's most consistent threat, scoring in the 26th minute, which spoke poorly of his teammates' resilience.
Georgian former national U-20 midfielder
Leri Bezhanishvili then enjoyed one of the most dominating performances of his career, with five goals against Finnish VI.637 side Helppo W, in an 8-0 rout. International then came down with a 3-5 loss to Swiss V.64 opponents Dynamo Gunti despite
Chua Jun Long's quality brace, and then ended the day with a whimper, 0-4 to Guatemalan Liga del Quetzal challengers Club Atlético Decadentes. Captain and national hero Eric Marchán controlled it all from central midfield, with Bezhanishvili humbled.