Saquitos No Quito
Oger Turned On
Three-time Uruguayan national champions ASR.SAQUITOS shut Grilled Birds out 0-2 in the World Battle competition, as the current II.4 challengers lived dangerously and came up tops. Their personal, mano-a-mano assignment of markers was more rigid than most, but incredible fitness particularly from their midfield core of José Pedro Lugones, Ítalo Uvaresco and Rafael Cambra was enough for them to emerge unscathed.
The previous round had seen them edge Première Ligue Haïtienne representatives Haiti Jaws 4-3, much of which was down to the terrific big man-small man combo of Ernesto Poyet and Adrien Oger. This classic partnership would force
Aw Keng Chuan into a deliberate trip on Oger by the fourth minute, but much of the rest of the half would see close misses by both teams. Argentine fullback Jony Boubila had it hard against
Gandhik Chitre, but none of his embarassments proved permanent, and
Chia Kwang Tse would manage a pair of hard-hit volleys that Franklim Sousa Andrade was however equal to.
The Birds would have to rely on fortune several times too, with Ernesto Poyet somehow conspiring to tap it wide, after his all-too-convincing stepover with his back to goal had lured
Dimitris Germanakos towards the middle of goal. There would be a quick follow-up that Germanakos stopped in a more conventional manner, but Chia's fluffed chance at the other end would lead to Oger shouldering Ha out of his way, and slipping the ball past Germanakos before he could react.
It was a harsh way for the Birds to end the half, which had them come out swinging hard once rested.
Paulino Trindade was as before one of Grilled's most productive contributors, with his willingness to go either inside or outside causing the not-very-fleet-of-foot Lionel White no end of trouble. Former Palestine U-20 sweeper Ahmad Swidan Tlaymat shut Trindade's first incursion down with panache in the 47th minute, and a second cut to the outside would tighten the angle too much for him to realistically beat Portuguese custodian Franklim Sousa Andrade.
Grilled would not yield quite yet, and they would create enough to keep a spark of hope alive, as when
Mohd Marzuki Khairul nodded Chia's lifted ball about a yard wide, 64 minutes in. ASR.SAQUITOS would however break the Birds' defensive lines on their next attack with Qatari legend Hamad Al-Khater propelling himself past
Brian Reddy over the final ten metres to have it 2-0, and Germanakos was fortunate that Ernesto Poyet couldn't keep it down, two minutes on. Poyet would then be booked for a vicious slide in on
Aw Keng Chuan from the goal kick, but no change to the scoreline would be due.
