Iron Without
Tomorrow's Joe
The Birds advanced to the Round of Sixteen in the Golden Trophy, if with some difficulty in seeing off experienced tournament participants Wincobank Ironopolis. The English Division Five luminaries were largely unmoveable in their distinctive red-sashed white kits, and it was only after sustained pressure that they cracked momentarily.
Ironopolis' 5-4-1 would hinge on former English youth international goalie Randolph Wight protecting their goal, for which his best assistants were veteran centreback Rimtas Doludis, and numbers. Italian Number Seven Egeo Di Pierri would be their Plan A to supply German target man Leo Luiz Schötmar, whose primary tactic in turn was to try and beat Grilled's defenders for pace.
This was all very simple for the Birds to understand, but no less daunting a combination to face nevertheless, as Ironopolis engaged them in a game of patience. A full-on press gave Grilled's players little time to dwell on the ball and pick out appropriate passes, which nearly bore fruit 31 minutes in when Huw Richards picked off
Aw Keng Chuan, having forced play way back. Rimtas Doludis shot first time as he charged madly upfield upon spotting the turnover, and
Dimitris Germanakos would have to sprawl to stop it.
Ironopolis did not have unlimited stamina, that said, and they would be caught short following that near-success. Too many of their defenders would stray forward as the Birds shrank back, and a breakout saw
Ha Qicai in unfamiliar territory, with the opposition box at his back. Ha would go over as he made contact with Grant Pennersax trying to turn the last man, but the referee evidently felt that he had been looking for it, as he signalled for Ha to get back on his feet.
That had
Chan Ze Han uncharacteristically remonstrate with the referee, and he would be hauled away by Ha before a possible yellow card. In any case, Chan would be out for the second half once more, but few could fault the Grilled supporters for not expecting very much from
Joe Reece, given how off-colour he had been.
This would be Reece's day, somehow, as he clicked against Ironopolis' earnest pressing style. Gliding between several defenders in quick succession, Reece would find himself facing Wight down five minutes after coming on, and deposited the ball into the bottom right corner without any extraneous moves.
The rest of the match would be the Welshman entertaining himself with his teammates all too happy to contribute to his revival - temporary as it might turn out to be, and the English club would be fully occupied in trying to keep Reece quiet. He might even have had a hat-trick on another day, but for this instance, the Birds were fortunate not to be punished by Les Forgan's free-kick on the counter.
