At Wit's End
Three For Changi
The Birds sorely missed departed forward Domenik Bögengang as they crashed to a terrible 0-3 defeat at Changi Genius Arena. The German ironman, who had started every league fixture for Grilled since his arrival, for a total of over fifty such matches, proved to be the missing link as the trio of young forwards lacked his decisiveness up top.
With
Erik Back still recuperating,
Anders Josefsson filled in on the right wing, while
Walter Ross was a surprise inclusion as Qaseem Madaini was left on the bench after complaining of diarrhea. The resulting starting eleven floundered in an embarassing manner under the rain, as it soon became painfully clear that they were outclassed in midfield.
Marc Pujolràs, who had been a revelation in recent weeks, saw his rehabilitation cruelly cut short by the muddy ground. His slick touches were nowhere to be seen as he slid all over the place, and it was amazing that his freak pass flopped its way through the Changi defence for Safrinho to chase in the fifteenth minute. Safrinho, now probably a legitimate first-teamer, took care to place it on target, only for Dror Sapir to guide it over the bar.
Grilled then fell behind to in-form Mexican midfielder Jesús Salinas Mila's classy chip coming in from the left side of the box, which arched inches over
Dexter Stacey's reach before dropping over the goalline. That was followed four minutes later by a brilliant piece of dribbling by Mugurel Rusanu, especially in such conditions, with the Romanian sidestepping a perfunctory Ross challenge before cutting inside Stacey for 2-0.
Han Lik-Tsun stood stony-faced under the rain as he watched his side disintegrate, but his pent-up emotions finally came forth when referee Erwin Buist awarded the hosts what appeared to be a soft penalty in the 35th minute, after Rusanu went down under the slightest of touches by Jungui. Justice was served as Arnout Cevaal sliced it wide, perhaps predicated by an odd dance by Stacey on the line.
That, and the half-time break, was but a brief respite, as Changi sealed the win in the 57th minute through an overlapping Mohd Rosedy bin Kunju Mohamad run. While they still felt it prudent to bring in Per Nessholt for Rãzvan Georgescu in the final stages, Han had the look of a man out of ideas, as he watched, soaking wet, from the sidelines.
