Day Of The Underdogs
This marked the first time that the Birds had had ten hit past them since Spain's FC LoMeu recorded an 11-1 at The Cooking Pot nine seasons ago, also in a friendly. Acting skipper
Tian Yonghang was at a loss to explain the overwhelming margin of defeat.
"This may sound ridiculous, but I thought we weren't exactly that bad." Tian offered. "The records will show that we shared possession quite evenly. I can only say that perhaps it's the cosmic balance righting itself, after we spanked CharlesCheesePie through a similar process."
If it would be any consolation, Grilled's embarassment came after a likely unprecedented sweep of S-League clubs in the Cup, as Isle of Flames, Tanglin Winners FC, Pudgy Penguins, Yew Tea and Yellow Buggies all fell to lower-ranked opposition. Most of these were narrow one-goal wins, other than Monday's challengers Be Champions FC, who surprised Tanglin by four goals to one.
It was not all unexpected, with only three points separating first and fifth in the ultra-competitive top division, and
Niculae Stanca read it as a sign that Singaporean football is maturing. "Some of these Division Three sides can give any team here a run for their money on their day... heck, five of them just did. Placement doesn't mean much of anything nowadays."
When pressed as to who he thought might take the most open Cup in recent memory, the head coach was evasive. "Who knows? It would be foolhardy to put money down in the circumstances. Kim Tae Hee FC are the new favourites, and singnet_utd have huge reserves to draw on, but I wouldn't mind Be Champions and Dodogado putting together a dream run. They're entirely capable of it."
