Improved Town
Muted Miguel
Manchester Town F.C. looked a changed side at home from the one that subcummed tamely 0-8 to Grilled Birds just three weeks ago, mostly due to Eng-Hin being replaced by new signing Dara Kafetsios up front. Kafetsios added a new dimension to a previously static three-man attack, but Grilled drew first blood with a no-frills move in the second minute which saw American winger
Tom Pence send in a series of probing crosses into the box. The third one was latched on by
Tim Hobson, who unerringly guided it into the far corner. This was immediately followed by Tellskär knocking home from a similar
Ma Dai-Lin pass, and Manchester were down by two by the third minute. The old Manchester might have lain down and died, but Kafetsios pushed his side to fight back and they did so brilliantly with bin Yusop and Guo-Hong hitting back with the same wing-to-center combination Grilled had utilised for their early goals. Hobson restored Grilled's lead with a fine piece of ball control on Machado's difficult pass, gaining a second on Manchester defender Zheng-Qi, which was sufficient for him to chip goalie Yuan-Shin to boos from the small but vocal home support. After this explosive first thirteen minutes which saw four goals, the game slowed for the rest of the half as Manchester Town grew warier, while new American import
Miguel Reed failed to penetrate or support Hobson at all.
Hobson went it alone with the usual results right on the hour, putting away his hat-trick in a most businesslike manner. Machado by then had advanced almost into the underperforming Reed's position, and nearly increased the lead further when confusion in the goal area saw him with time if not too much space. He didn't pick his spot well enough to score, banging the ball onto the crossbar to his own astonishment. Mao Guo-Hong turned Dewilde inside out during a prolonged Manchester siege of the Grilled goal, making it a double for himself when he squeezed his shot inside the near post. Hobson, never one to let himself be outdone, took the shine off Guo-Hong's brace with a homing strike off a free-kick, which
Miguel Reed was preparing to take. The newcomer had little to say after Hobson's unequivocal success, of course, and was reduced to chasing long punts up to the final whistle.
