Whipped Once More
Xie Impresses
In an extravaganza featuring no less than six former national U-20 strikers, it was the youngest of them all who captured the attention, as BDSM FC's Xie Xun and Grilled's
Tian Yonghang both scored twice. It would be Xie who would wind up on the winning side, however, as Grilled lost out by the odd goal in the shooting match.
It has been a long six seasons since the Birds last faced BDSM FC, with the four games between them exactly evenly split, being composed with two 2-2 draws, and a 4-3 win apiece. Since parting ways, BDSM FC have found homes in III.6, II.3 and currently III.16, where they finished sixth despite Wira bin Mahmood becoming joint top scorer.
Still, with the much-feared Lee Siong Nie, just turned 35 and now player-coach, BDSM FC always have goals in them, and when midfield duo Hong Ping Nie and Ong Hui Loong are up to it, not to mention Chang Sze Yew at right wing, they will cause problems for the best of teams.
Today was such a day, even though Grilled started with their first team, minus the injured
Zhu Changchun. Furthermore, after a storm of rumours involving a possible move, the club confirmed that
lu Zunwen would be leaving, making this occasion also a farewell for the 29 year-old former Titus Titanium IV midfielder.
It was
Abdul bin Jantan who was chosen to be in the middle, as heavy rain threatened to wash out the game. Once it got going, however, there was no stopping the visitors, who made up for lost time with energetic thrusts through the middle. Current U-20 star Osman Johan Afi had issues with his footing, but got used to it by the eighth minute, and entered a timely tangle with
Qassem Madaini to leave Guan Zhongshan free to rake it in.
If that was partly accidently, there was nothing lucky at all about Xie Xun's contribution five minutes later. Xie has been a hit at the Grand Eternal Stadium since his S$6 million move there from Romanian team Ataşaţii, with his full-hearted, all-action style resonating with the BDSM fans. It was another typical strike from him in the 13th minute, as
Liang Liyong, no shrinking violet himself, literally bounced off him before he blasted unstoppably past
Edmund Kryus.
That was not warmly received by the Grilled fans, who once more found their doubts about the defence unassuaged. The Birds responded as they knew best, and
Tian Yonghang pulled one back after Mohd Faizal Zainal's brilliantly-judged tackle on
Chow Ying Lee only sent the ball flying to the Golden Boot winner.
While undoubtedly a colossus in his prime, Lee Siong Nie's decline from those dizzy heights was evident throughout, and although he remains a very competent forward, the dominating presence that had him score four in his four meetings with Grilled was no longer present. He missed a sitter after a great flick-on from a corner that he would have buried a few seasons ago, and then opted for a stooping header when a leaping volley would surely have beaten Kryus.
Rashid bin Ahmad entered for the off-colour Liang at half-time, and provided a more reliable defensive base for Grilled to build from.
Woon Shun An, always a terror in wet conditions, made the most of the improvement by flying past Guan in the 63rd minute to make it all square again.
Chow then spurned a superb opportunity for the Birds to take the lead, when
Gleb Dorogan made a rare sprint that caught Mohd Faizal Zainal unawares, only to go for the outlandish unsuccessfully. Worse, Mohd Faizal then demonstrated how it should be done, as he stroked a grounder coolly around Kryus, after Xie had pulled Rashid aside.
That was enough for Luis Alcántara, who gave
Leong Wan Kang and
Pompeo Bellamoli their turns. They did inject much-needed urgency into Grilled's passing, but could not stop Xie from confirming his Man of the Match status with a delightful scamper beyond two defenders.
Tian put in a late claim for the award with a serene first-time shot off
Zhao Jing Wei's slide-rule pass, but while the Birds came close to tying it up as BDSM FC lost their shape in the closing minutes, the visitors held out to continue the 4-3 tradition.
