A Green Shine
Coming Of Age
The Birds unexpectedly chose this day to gel, unfortunately for the visiting Shining Lights, who were hit for six without reply.
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim fittingly led the charge, claiming his first-ever hat-trick in the league within 38 minutes, and then added one more for good measure. Strike partner
Chow Ying Lee rounded out the scoring in a dazzling might-be-foretelling of future national exploits.
The Lights were coming off three straight wins, and a record since the beginning of the season of 33 goals scored to two against, both hard-won by a spirited Phantasm Hotspurs side. Mohd Safri took just two minutes to crush Spanish goalkeeper Antoni Badia's hopes of a clean sheet, however, as he sidled in on the left side to send
Tian Yonghang's intelligent forward pass on its way.
Shining were resilient, and set about containing Grilled's uncommonly fluent midfield interplay. They were not particularly shy about it either, with fresh Italian signing Giulio Lo Bianco Corrado impatient to make a splash, winding up sinking his studs into an unlucky
Seytek Djekshenkulov. There weren't too many complaints about the yellow card.
It looked as if they might sit out the pressure successfully, but it all went to bits when German midfield general Siegmund Sieslack turned his ankle. Sieslack had been massive in both of Shining's meetings with Grilled last season, and his substitute Aleksi Vähäkuopus had barely stepped in when Mohd Safri lumped in a second.
The departure was a huge blow to Shining's chemistry, and Grilled took full advantage before they had a chance to recompose themselves. French coach Guilhem Huss was concerned, but his hands were tied, and the Birds put it beyond his side to salvage in two fateful minutes - Mohd Safri hooked his and Grilled's third in from out left, before Chow mimicked his heading style to convert
Shiya Shaahee's cross. Giulio worryingly overextended himself stretching for that, but recovered sufficiently to make it to half-time on his feet.
There were no indications that the Lights would be able to turn it around after the restart as Grilled continued getting the ball forward, and it was telling that the strikes began to come from some of the more withdrawn positions.
Zhu Changchun hit it hard and hoped for the best, but had his effort cannon off a defender, while
Qassem Madaini nearly added to his rapidly-burgeoning tally with a twisting free-kick that was saved spectacularly.
Shining tried to parley that into an equalizer as they immediately attacked at pace down the left, but were to be disappointed when Chinese defender Cai Kunchao, the extra man down the left, fluffed up his touch. They would be given a taste of their own medicine as
Dexter Stacey wasted no time in picking Mohd Safri out with a monster goal kick, and with the forward completely in the zone, there could only be one outcome.
Chow Ying Lee then had another header tipped over before going back to basics and demolishing the slow-accelerating Cai over ten metres to bag Grilled's sixth. Shining probably deserved at least one goal for their efforts, but Stacey was as usual not in a generous mood, and swatted Siegwart Wörishofer's on-target howitzer around the post.
