Cruz Control
Maillard Masterclass
Grilled Birds might have lost to Paraguayan División de Honor titans CF Santa Cruz in the Dominion International Cup, but there was little shame involved, all the more after taking their clearly-superior opponents to extra time. That took just about everything that the Birds had, sadly, and there was scarce doubt that CF Santa Cruz were going to prevail eventually.
It was difficult to see where Grilled might have an edge, frankly, starting from the imposing sight of hyper-experienced Jamaican national goalie Paul Markham between their posts. 36 year-old sweeper Bobby Nobs - capped seven times for Switzerland - would be the next line of defence, with countryman Mikaël Técher as the fulcrum of their midfield. The right wing would have former Icelandic and Irish internationals Ingi Rannversson and Ste Mac Geralt, only to be regarded as their weaker flank, while local and national legend Miguel Maillard skippered this formidable team from the top.
Against this, even the Birds' own array of would-be stars felt dimmed, but it would be an unexpectedly close struggle, in the first half at least. The defining battle would be between Técher and
Aw Keng Chuan for the middle, in which the former tended to have the upper hand - and none more so than in the 16th minute, when he lost Aw in making a well-considered sprint into the box, in sync with Raúl Gabea's elegantly-drifting through pass.
That saw CF Santa Cruz up one-nil with
Dimitris Germanakos unable to hold on to Técher's strike, but Grilled would not wait to get their own back either.
Aw Keng Chuan would be moved to attempt his own drive forward two minutes later, and came within an inch of blasting his reply in off the underside of the bar. The Birds sensed blood, and after another spectacular dribble - this time by
Brian Reddy - they would be on level terms, as Markham stuck out his leg a fraction too late.
The small Grilled fan contingent went wild at the equalizer, with their team's enthusiasm on the pitch turning quite contagious. With
Hwang Teck Fu putting in his fair share of important tackles, the Birds just about held their foes at bay, with no further chances of note for the rest of the first half. Norwegian ex-Under-20 support striker Ole Warholm would repeatedly fall back to receive the ball, but found Grilled's instant press suffocating.
Grilled Birds would not be able to keep that degree of coverage up forever, unfortunately, and reverted to a looser style of marking as the next half progressed. This would inevitably lead to a Santa Cruz breakthrough 64 minutes in, as Geralt skinned
Paulino Trindade with some filthy behind-the-back ball manipulation, to open up the entirety of Grilled's left side. Miguel Maillard called for it as the Birds tried to recover, and slammed the perfect low cross home without any hesitation, for 2-1.
As before, the Birds picked themselves up immediately, and they equalized five minutes later after a sustained spell of possession in the opposition half.
Lim An Keng would receive the ball with his back to goal several times, but opted for the safe way out on each of those occasions, with Nobs and company breathing down his back.
Raúl Himadas had less patience, and put his right boot hard through the ball, on Lim's third pass back. Paul Markham didn't even have time to move, as it flashed by him to nearly rip the net off the frame.
It was clearly anybody's game now, and the tension was palpable as the teams slung the ball from end to end. Abd El Basitt El Malky tested
Dimitris Germanakos with a powerful volley in the 71st, but the Greek custodian got the touch, and Ole Warholm put it wide with Himadas applying pressure at the right time. Mikaël Técher would come good again for 3-2 three minutes later, however, which had
Tian Yonghang take
Lim An Keng off for
Gandhik Chitre. That proved a wise decision, as Chitre would grab Grilled's third with five minutes left on the clock, after
Mohd Marzuki Khairul had his shot closed down.
With nothing separating the sides at full time, an extra thirty minutes would begin - with CF Santa Cruz's extra class becoming undeniable to all. The Birds had substituted graft for their deficiency in collective technique, which meant that they had far less left in the tank. The beginning of the end came when
Ha Qicai found it increasingly impossible to keep up with Miguel Maillard, who had very possibly been reserving his strength. A sly nudge from the forward threw Ha off for an instant in the 97th minute... which was more than he needed, to trap Bobby Nobs' inbound pass and slip it beyond the keeper.
The Birds would attempt to mount a fourth response, but while the spirit was willing, the legs were rubbery;
Aw Keng Chuan had done far too much running for one, and he found himself unable to react as Israeli midfielder Abd El Basitt El Malky flitted across to dispossess him. That would see Miguel Maillard complete his hat-trick a couple of passes later, and were it not for Mikaël Técher getting too careless from the penalty spot after Hwang's foul, it would have ended 6-3.
