Hertz Period
Szwałek Makes History
Grilled were downed by Woodlands club Hertz United, who in doing so have advanced to the sixth round of the Cup for the first time in their 24 season-long stay in local football. They had Polish winger Leon Szwałek all to thank, as his header from a corner proved to be all the difference between the contestants.
The Birds were clearly cautious going into the meeting, having drawn first-teamers
Zhu Changchun and
Seytek Djekshenkulov into the starting lineup despite both still feeling the rigours of Sunday's league fixture against Arrogancae, and new signing
lu Zunwen too got his debut at the top of an attacking triangle.
Hertz United made only two changes from the side that defeated Ramseille Volliard FC in the last round, but moved the versatile Szwałek up from rightback to left wing, a decision which would have great repurcussions. The Birds' faith in
Li Boon Boon and
Tang Hengcai up front turned out to be misplaced, as the teenagers began to look overawed by the situation.
This was nowhere more clear than in the fifth minute, when captain
Qassem Madaini bent an indirect free-kick invitingly into their path. The two stood for a split-second as if petrified, and then bumped into each other, leaving the ball to bounce wide of the post when almost any touch would have given them a good chance to open the scoring.
Hertz found their best work done down the sides, as
Hung Wee Li and
Teo Yong Yau found themselves unnerved by their far more experienced opponents. Star Brazilian striker Luís Roberto Queirós, a S$7.8 million acquisition, fired away after the ball was slipped past Teo all too easily, and to
Dexter Stacey's relief it passed inches wide of his far post.
The cumulative effect of having to cover for the youngsters against a well-drilled side playing to its strengths took its toll on Grilled's major players, and Djekshenkulov berated Teo after having to sacrifice a booking due to the winger against letting Bragard past him in the 35th minute. Hertz's goal was coming in retrospect, even if Tzonkov probably could have done better in throwing off Szwałek.
Grilled were not too perturbed at half-time, as they still had an ace up their sleeves in the form of
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim, who came on as a timely substitute for the ineffective Li immediately after the break. Mohd Safri immediately added much-needed urgency to Grilled's limp attack, and within five minutes he had tested Greek goalie Tonis Palavakis with a sneaky chip, more than the Birds had managed in the first forty-five minutes.
Unfortunately, that turned out to be a false dawn, as Hertz's intelligent movement kept Grilled from getting enough possession to do real damage, and the continued fecklessness of Grilled's fledglings hampered development when they did have it. Teo's 72nd minute miss summed it all up, and Michał Pęksa was not bothered at all after he came in for Palavakis a few minutes later in Hertz's customary goalkeeping substitution.
