Endtime Eclipse
Embil Explosion
Grilled's championship dreams lay in shambles after Shining Lights dealt them a taste of their own medicine, the 5-2 result at Blackout Arena coming in response to the early-season 6-0 whitewash at The Cooking Pot. The Birds had actually looked value for the win as they led for most of the match in a return to the 3-5-2, but a horrible finish meant that the points slipped away.
There were some raised eyebrows over in Sentosa as the team lineups were revealed, with Grilled playing just two up front for the first time in a competitive match since the 2-3 defeat to CCP at the beginning of last season, which had been forced by
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim being unavailable due to injury.
No such reason had presented itself this time, though, as
Niculae Stanca dropped
Tian Yonghang and selected his three top defenders to start together. Shining for their part had Siegwart Wörishofer back after the German saw his day cut short twice in a row, leading to questions being raised about his condition.
Aware that the Lights were most likely going all out for points in their fight for survival, Grilled opted to sit deeper than usual, which did create some doubt in the opponents who no doubt expected the usual one-dimensional strategy. Some unproductive to-ing and fro-ing later,
Chow Ying Lee turned the match on its head with a deadly shuffle to free himself and slot home.
That rocked the stadium, but as with Grilled's match against Ho Seh Liao, the Lights found joy against the Birds' leaky backline within minutes. 29 year-old Spanish forward Manuel Embil claimed his 93rd career goal by pushing it first-time past
Qassem Madaini, who looked uncertain at fullback, from a wide ball, before successfully beating Stacey at his near post with a bold effort.
Lights then nearly went in front with
Walter Ross having to clear on the line after Rūstis Riaubiškis' cross was fumbled by a suddenly-shaky Stacey, but it was Grilled that ultimately profited from the havoc. Few were in a position to respond effectively when
Zhu Changchun managed to break out of the penalty area with a timely burst of speed, and skipper Madaini kept pace with him until they reached the other end, where a neat inside pass made it easy for the Saudi Arabian.
The home team were left chafing at more or less being cheated out of the lead, with replays showing that the ball might have crossed the line before Ross scooped it out, but Grilled were certainly not about to concede the point and tone it down.
Disorganization crept in as some Birds players drifted to their usual positions, and Hannes Mayer leapt in when a gap opened in central defence in the 31st minute. However, Lin forced him on his weaker left foot, which meant that the winger would have to wait longer to break his duck against Grilled.
All in all, it was frustrating for the hosts, and French coach Guilhem Huss saw
Seytek Djekshenkulov's card for time-wasting in the 54th minute as an opportunity to shake things up. In came Richardos Mpelonis and Teemu Vaaranto to freshen their attack, while Bora Gürçay and a spent-looking Kurt Sellerup returned to the bench.
This didn't seem to have the desired effect as Grilled's extra man back kept things tidy, and
Alex Fonseca bore a deserved smile on his face as he was taken off for
Abdul bin Jantan, knackered by his running in midfield. The reliable Portuguese had no inkling of the massacre that was about to unfold.
It began unprepossessingly enough, as Mayer began to send his crosses in from deeper and deeper, falling back on the direct approach as the minutes ticked by. Grilled were handling them easily enough, up till the 80th minute when Stacey was blocked from the ball as Ross scuttled by with Mpelonis in tow; Embil, who had not been expecting much on the far side, didn't pass up the gift.
A lot of shouting went on, mostly from Stacey, but he might have done better to keep his concentration as the buoyed Lights pinged the ball around the edges of the Grilled penalty area, before Vaaranto saw an opening and clubbed a strong but not unsaveable volley at goal. It was still enough to beat the off-balance Stacey, though, as the home side took the lead for the first time in the 82nd minute.
That was it for the Birds as they imploded in spectacular fashion, with Wörishofer's near-miss coming off the post and falling to Embil, who dodged the incoming
Lin Jungui masterfully to complete his hat-trick. Giovanni Trudu made it five from a delightfully-worked indirect free-kick to make it a bittersweet introduction to the league for
Neo Da Teck, a last-minute substitution for the downhearted Ross.
