Chill Bring Heat
Werden Supersub
Grilled's cup final disappointment was followed by another World Battle defeat, if by a closer margin against Irish II.1 contestants Chill Dara. Proud winners of the Irish Cup some fourteen years ago, Chill Dara lined up in a 4-5-1 fronted by former Guatemalan youth international Horacio Palacios, who indeed grabbed their first goal; the winner would however come from his replacement Malte Werden, as Swiss head coach Philipp Kinberg made full use of his squad options.
Chill Dara's headliner was without a doubt 27 year-old homegrown midfielder David Osman, who like Palacios and Croatian partner Duje Jerkušić has represented his country at U-20 level. Centreback Ikars Žogis, capped ten times for Latvia, would be their main free-kick taker, with no-nonsense bald Dutchman Harm-Jan Brugman captaining the side. Behind them would be local Number One Neil Farrelly, signed for S$15.8 million from defunct Hattrick Anniversary League participants, New Paradise Club.
Tian Yonghang gave
Hisham Zubari time to reintegrate by not including him in today's squad, but did try the pair of
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko and
Genki Nagano at the back.
Aw Keng Chuan sat slightly in front of them as the midfield stopper, with
Brian Reddy,
Darko Andrović and
Gandhik Chitre possibly making their final appearance for the Birds. This had a few more fans than the usual fly out to witness the game, which Chitre for one definitely appreciated, from how he took to the ground early for autographs.
Kick-off came soon enough with fair weather at the venue, and Grilled would dutifully attack straight into Chill Dara's counterattacking setup.
Lim An Keng had certainly put the cup heartbreak behind him as he terrorized Brugman from the outset, and
Gandhik Chitre's nicely-weighted sideways pass in the eighth minute was an invitation for Lim to throw his weight around. That last shoulder-charge looked barely legal, but the referee didn't lift his whistle to his lips, and the Birds striker closed off with a stiff left-footed shot.
Poor finishing would again plague Grilled Birds despite that engaging start, and they would be made to pay for it in the 23rd minute, directly after
Hwang Teck Fu's opportunistic effort had cleared the bar. Chill Dara made the most of their multi-ball protocol with a quick long ball up the left, which Swedish winger Stefan Bohstad easily played on for Horacio Palacios to convert. There was nearly a mirror image of that eight minutes later as Lim sent another attempt wide, but Bohstad skied it well over this time.
It was still anybody's game, and the Birds returned a little of what they had endured, with
Radomil Marcol's huge goal kick after an Osman cross was skewed behind; there wasn't much that was graceful about
Chad Thach's knockdown, but
Chia Kwang Tse was a sight for sore eyes as he glided past two defenders to slot it into the bottom corner. The lead would last just five minutes, alas, as Brugman found himself lurking in the box on Cristóbal Marillanca's extended drive up the right wing, and outleaped
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko for 2-2.
Half-time came and went with
Lim An Keng still quickest off the starting blocks, and he would give the Chill Dara supporters a big scare barely two minutes into the new half, immediately after
Brian Reddy enacted a symbolic passing of the baton with
Phillip Nagata on the sidelines. Juan Luis Sifontes lost his tracking for a moment there as Hwang ran across, but Neil Farrelly kept his eyes on the ball, and made the crucial block low with his leading leg.
That gave heart to the Irish side, and they would shift up a gear as the match went on, and Duje Jerkušić found Nagata somewhat wanting in matters of defence. 62 minutes in, Jerkušić shimmied to the outside of Nagata before pulling back inside, and the ensuing chaos freed Juan Luis Sifontes to score, after Horacio Palacios smartly left it for him. Palacios would shortly after be off for Malte Werden, and Chill Dara were then 4-2 up in the 76th minute, as the newcomer placed it past
Radomil Marcol with his first possession.
Grilled Birds would try for a quick reply from the restart, and it actually came off after Cristóbal Marillanca lost
Darko Andrović with a telegraphed tackle, allowing the transfer-listed Bosnian winger to arc it across for
Chia Kwang Tse to reduce.
Gandhik Chitre then hit a fleeting chance straight to Farrelly as the Birds piled on; Harm-Jan Brugman won his team some breathing room with a takedown on
Lim An Keng and consequent booking, which he followed up with a frewheeling - and well off target - strike on the subsequent breakout.
