Top Two Hundred
Grilled Birds finished 165th of 5434 teams in the Trophy of Legends, for their best result in thirteen seasons, behind the 82nd place they achieved in the twelfth edition. This was after they won both their games on this third and final day, beginning with an impressive 5-2 over Swedish III.31 side Trifiderna FC.
Mohd Marzuki Khairul's brace had Grilled 3-0 up by the 27th minute, and an Ivan Minkov counter was followed by a neat
Raúl Himadas penalty. The second half saw
Lim An Keng and Arthur Maertz score sitters in turn, from exquisite crosses;
Gandhik Chitre then sought to end the match as he started it, but lifted it high in the 88th.
German V.171 club SC Wadern would be the Birds' last assignment, with the Saarland notables captained by cult hero and former national youth midfielder Kaspar Kaut. A Himadas snipe from open play after 13 minutes was soon matched by Rudi Blaser's daisy-cutter from ten yards, but
Brian Reddy's 29th minute chip presaged another calm penalty take by Himadas, and a breakthrough from Lim. Italian lone striker Francesco Marzocchi had his moments for Wadern in the second half, but ultimately had nothing to show for his craft.
Tian Yonghang regarded the overall showing as reflecting the squad's improvement. "We may still have our weak points, particularly when put on defence - but it's getting harder to exploit those."
Not so much the Buns, who wound up 562nd with a 3-3-2 and -1 goal difference, after a draw and a loss. Their tussle with French V.61 side Ajax normandie ended goalless with Ajax probably happier with the result due to several great saves from Brazilian Number One Eudes Vaz Leal, after which Chilean VI.361 winners Ejército de Helamán got them 2-0 off Axel Holzmüllers's double.
Lau Keng Kwang's 35th minute dismissal for a second yellow left his teammates with little hope, for which he was suitably remorseful.
Grilled International overperformed with twin 4-2 triumphs, to finish 388th with a +12 goal difference for their best showing in eight years. Spanish V.38 side FC Bunis Revolution were first up, and despite Adrián Eugui pulling them level in the 82nd minute with a cheeky volley off Victorio Escurra's rushed cross,
Redhuan bin Mohd Aleshahfezan and
Chua Jun Long came good in International's closing barrage.
Italian VII.637 champions BaZinGa's Boys went ahead through Dimitri Nicoleau in the 64th minute, only to have Redhuan bail International out once more, with his beauty of a barnstormer on the very next possession.
Leri Bezhanishvili then got International ahead in the 76th, and a dramatic penalty miss by Dimitri Nicoleau allowed
Phua Li Kong to deposit in San Marino goalie Massimo Bullini's empty net in stoppage time, with the Boys doing a desperate final push.