All Glazed Over
Both parties could hardly believe their eyes at the final whistle, with the overstimulated home support almost reticent in their post-match chanting, and the away section still mostly filled, when most supporters would have left early after witnessing such a defeat.
"It was like a train wreck." one Pies fan, who declined to be named, explained. "You know you shouldn't be gawking, but some perverse instinct takes over, and you just have to stay and look."
Niculae Stanca had sympathy for the visitors. "I would say that we would have just three, maybe four, goals on another day, but this time everything went right for us. It was the complete opposite of what happened against Chemistry in the Cup. Ling opened with a goal the likes of which he won't be scoring again in a hurry, and after that, they went in as fast as we could hit them."
Abdul bin Jantan concurred. "CCP are still a very good side, and they will need no motivation when we go to See Mee Lan Park next Sunday. It won't be easy at all."
The big win along with other results conspired to leave Grilled heading the league table at the half-way point, after newbies are newbies' Giulio Bollini struck twice to claim a draw against JUtd in a derby of the highest quality. newbies must be favourites for the return fixture, given that important JUtd playmaker Zygmunt Gwizd was stretchered off just before half-time.
Rapala FC kept in touch with a hard-fought 1-0 against Robbie Football Club, who came within seven minutes of their first point, until Joni Huhtamäki cruelly wrested it from them from a free-kick arrangement. SpartanSG went three clear of TTTNW with a 3-1 home victory, as a lack of ball-holders let TTTNW down yet again.
Finally, the Chicken Wings blazed a trail for their senior counterparts in the morning, as they beat newbies' junior team 4-0. Although Santosh Manik was not among the goalscorers, onlookers agreed that he could be the best youth forward to come up through the Birds' youth system since
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim. In a field that includes the likes of
Tian Yonghang, Lo Kok Long and
Leong Wan Kang, that is heavy praise indeed.
