The Almighty Is Fair
Tischer Salvation
Grilled stumbled to a lukewarm start in their first match of the TokCockSingSong tournament, with goals galore in their four-all draw with organizers J3 Almighty. The Birds appeared to have shaken off an admirable first-half surge by the Division Three representatives, and
Wong Ping Shun nearly made himself a hero for the second day in a row, but veteran Swiss wingback Gustav Tischer had the last word with a wondergoal.
Almighty were coming into the game on the back of a win too, as they had eked out a one-nil win against Tele Fone FC, which saw former Grilled defender Liang Liyong booked. Renato Mignozzi was raring to continue his streak, but it was
Low Aik Jia who had the fans up on their feet first with a startling burst of pace.
Low's rawness however meant that he had neglected to tone it down sufficiently to get a shot off, and the long hack upfield by visiting goalie Ijaz Khan landed right ahead of Hélder Araújo, who fell dramatically as
Qassem Madaini tried to overtake him. Penalty, and affected keeper
Edmund Kryus never looked like stopping Martiniano Yaqué's well-taken spot kick.
Walter Ross prevented a second with some forward thinking, and
Chow Ying Lee levelled in the 25th minute, with the speed in Grilled's attacking line making Almighty's defence quite uncomfortable. It was for naught, though, as
Gleb Dorogan made an absolute brainfart from the restart, blindly turning right into the path of Hélder Araújo.
Yaqué then brushed the crossbar with a terrific free-kick, as Kryus' disinterested demeanour began to get worrying. Grilled had to redirect attention elsewhere and fast, and they managed a second equaliser from
Zhao Jing Wei, who aggressively cut through the middle.
Of course, Almighty would come back immediately, Dilan Quilempan putting it past Kryus after
Ling Fuquan lost the energetic Araújo. The ping-pong was not over yet, as the Birds again dug deep into their reserves of creativity, and
Wong Ping Shun continued earning his way into the supporters' hearts with a deft stop and cross to give Chow an easy header for 3-3.
It was looking a far more competitive event than advertised, with both teams clearly out for the points, and Yaqué was once more woefully unlucky with another magical free-kick that swung inches wide. Wong then stepped up to justify his seven million dollar signing fee once again, trapping a long ball beautifully before stroking it under Khan.
With the lead for the first time and with Almighty looking all out, stand-in coach Luis Alcántara though it the right time to let
Tian Yonghang on to control the game; strangely, he ignored Low's obvious breathlessness, instead withdrawing a slightly-disappointed Chow, who was edging closer to his hat-trick.
It will never be known if this tactical change let the opponents back in, but there would have been no issues had
Zhao Jing Wei nailed it when he went clear of the last man on the left side. As it was, however, Almighty were hanging on, and Tischer answered their prayers with a world-class cannonball, the likes of which he will likely never produce again in his career.
