Mumu Not Pretending
Engels In Heaven
Defending Andorran Primera Divisió champions Mumu F.C. might have knocked Grilled Birds out at the quarterfinal stage of the King of Football Club, but Grilled could certainly hold their heads up high, after scoring four against the Andorran representatives, and taking them to extra time.
Tian Yonghang's switcheroo in pulling
Lim An Keng,
Gandhik Chitre and
Chad Thach into midfield worked magnificently in throwing off player-coach Àngel Altimir's preparations, and had a little more gone their way, the Birds might well have been the ones to prevail.
Mumu F.C. were undeniably stacked, with the 33 year-old Altimir - capped 42 times for his national side - not even the most decorated player they had. Cult hero Ramon Cararach would captain them at forward, which made 178 senior caps together with longtime strike partner Ferran Alier and midfielder Aaron Trafach. They had no compunctions about drawing upon the best of other nations too, with their other starters hailing from seven different countries, united foremost by a shared excellence in their craft.
Grilled skipper
Ha Qicai had gamely admitted to being the underdogs in his interview before the match, and it was soon evident that Mumu F.C. had a considerable advantage playing out from the back, while handily matching the Birds in other departments. After another
Brian Reddy run was stopped by Austrian veteran Günter Wiedemayr in the ninth minute, they would swing back down the same flank smooth as butter, with Cararach freeing himself for Pongsiri Jatusripithak's inbound pass. He would then convincingly make as to take on the shot by himself, before cutting slightly back and playing Aaron Trafach in for the easy finish.
If that was a grand exhibition of the Mumu players' near-telepathic understanding, there would be more of that to come, with Tonny Gudmundsen sprinting inside to head home Filippo Putrino's cross in the 26th minute. This however sparked a mammoth response by
Lim An Keng, who made the most of his withdrawn position to bust through the Mumu lines and lob former French international Jacques Petit five minutes later. Lim wasn't done, and Mumu would learn to respect him the hard way, when he again bluffed and bullied his way down the middle, to tie it all up in the 35th.
The Birds were the ones calling the shots now, and they might have gone ahead 37 minutes in, but
Hwang Teck Fu's drive was placed too close to Petit, who swept it clear with his right leg. The Mumu fans appeared subdued as they considered Grilled's turnaround, which extended into the second half as the Birds rode on their hardwon high.
Darko Andrović had to cut it back after being blocked off by Bouko Engels on his 53rd minute incursion, but
Chia Kwang Tse took it on from over twenty yards, and smashed it into the near bottom corner with Petit a split-second late.
Grilled's lead wasn't destined to last for long, with Mumu F.C. overturning it within ten minutes. The Birds had spirit to spare, but there was no mistaking just how much more businesslike the Andorrans looked when they had the ball. A routine 62nd minute Filippo Putrino cross was polished off by a Pongsiri Jatusripithak header at full power, as the Swedish winger towered over
Raúl Himadas with a monster leap from wide. Jatusripithak would grab an assist on Mumu's very next possession, supplying fellow midfielder Àngel Altimir to the left of the six-yard box. The angle was tight, but the 33 year-old coach drilled it into the sliver of space between
Radomil Marcol and the goalpost.
Altimir would wave his men back into defence after presenting his team with the lead, but any intention of just sitting back would crumble six minutes later. Grilled Birds continued to pound on the Mumu door without regard for their own defensive probity, and this attitude would gain them several half-chances. The one that came good would transpire after
Chad Thach broke through their midfield line in the 69th minute, and
Hwang Teck Fu's immediate rush to the left would result in
Mohd Marzuki Khairul being unattended for once. Thach released his pass upon spotting Marzuki free, and the out-of-favour Number Seventeen sent it past Petit with a sure right boot.
Mumu F.C. were not about to risk themselves without good reason after that latest equalizer, and the remaining twenty minutes of regular time would see them gain control without penetration. Altimir signalled for veteran Turkish custodian Çetin Okaner to replace Jacques Petit with five minutes left, apparently with penalties already in mind. It was Grilled that had to survive an abrupt loss of concentration in injury time, but
Ha Qicai somehow kept it together then.
Extra time saw Grilled Birds rouse themselves one final time, as they sought to find a vital fifth goal as soon as they could.
Raúl Himadas was in contention to be the hero once more, as he whipped a 94th minute corner straight to
Brian Reddy at the far post, with Okaner penned in by a crowd; Reddy hit it behind off Günter Wiedemayr, sadly, and
Ha Qicai's strike after the next corner would be turned aside by the goalie. It was third time lucky for Mumu F.C., with Ramon Cararach putting it into touch way down the field.
Mumu recovered and got stronger as the match wore on, and their patient style paid dividends in full, 103 minutes in. Pongsiri Jatusripithak had been one of Mumu's top producers, and with
Brian Reddy slowing, his effectiveness could only increase. A neat one-two with a dropping-back Ferran Alier had Jatusripithak behind the last man, and he would loop a low cross over Himadas' desperate sliding block. Primary target Ramon Cararach got boxed out by the covering
Gandhik Chitre, but Dutch rightback Bouko Engels was there to apply the finish for 5-4.
Given that there had already been nine goals in the game, a tenth didn't seem all unlikely, and the Grilled team steeled themselves for another big push. First, however, they had to get the ball, and
Mohd Marzuki Khairul instead got a yellow card for a late step-in on Aaron Trafach in the 106th minute.
Lim An Keng tried for his hat-trick with a solid drive two minutes later, but Çetin Okaner got down to save, and Jatusripithak buried it into the side netting soon after.
