Rocked And Revved
Dorogan Basks
Three weeks after a 4-1 defeat at The Cooking Pot, FC Reykjavík's second bit at the cherry turned out no better, as Grilled upped the margin to six this time. It was a different experience for the spectators, though, as the only Reykjavík player to start both games was 17 year-old Brazilian midfielder Stefan Johann Haubersbronn, while the Birds changed half their team as well.
The visitors were pinning their hopes on Mexican captain Serapio Morales being able to fish something out of thin air by himself, but with
Rashid bin Ahmad and
Ling Fuquan double-teaming him, the possibility was remote to say the least. Grilled's front trio on the other hand were on a more level playing field with Reykjavík's defenders, and
Chow Ying Lee simply blew Harald Wammer away with his speed in the fifteenth minute to put the Birds ahead.
Reykjavík were evidently expected to hold out for longer than that, and some of their players appeared to be still discussing a response when
Seytek Djekshenkulov harried the young and learning Játmundur Arngrímsson off the ball from kick-off, and rampaged down the left by himself. None of the opposing men wanted much to do with twelve-and-a-half stone of fired-up Kyrgyzstani until Añaterve Riva went in as the last man. However,
Woon Shun An, who was following the charge, merely had to carry it on and complete the job for 2-0.
Their wariness of Djekshenkulov turned out to be well-founded, as the big man returned to his old bad habits and nearly laid Carlos Joli out in the 20th minute with a violent lunge from the side. Even the home support might have acknowledged a red card if it were given, but referee Albīns Bērzvads took his time deliberating before deciding that a yellow was sufficient.
Some ice and a shake of the hand later, Joli was good to go, but there remained no letup from the Grilled end as they pressured Reykjavík deep into their own half.
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim, who had two in the first friendly, would go halfway towards replicating that feat with a firm drive past Davíð Kristinsson through traffic.
All that ended up a mere prelude to former captain
Gleb Dorogan's return for the start of the second half, however. The still wildly-popular Moldovan received a spontaneous standing ovation from most of the three-thousand-plus spectators, which he gratefully acknowledged, as
Hovaness Noubaryan deferentially presented him with the captain's armband.
The new Number 26 didn't take too long to embellish his second debut for the Birds, as he scooted wide right and scythed a cross in that Mohd Safri obligingly got a head to. Kristinsson seemed to have it covered, but the well-meaning Riva put his body in the way and wound up redirecting it to the unguarded part of the goalmouth.
Having chalked up an assist, Dorogan then achieved what he never did in his first stint at Grilled - a goal in a friendly. It was done in some style too, a clean nutmeg against the keeper after
Shiya Shaahee had stretched Reykjavík's left defence fatally with a dazzling dribble.
Tian Yonghang completed the scoring in the 76th minute, and veteran
Abdul bin Jantan replaced Shaahee for the final ten, with
Dexter Stacey walking on for Noubaryan in a rare goalie sub before the end.
