Nothing To See
Markmann Lifesaver
Grilled's lingering title bid officially came to a close today, after a one-all draw with The Void Deck, though -= Manchester United =-'s win against UNITED SKANKS made the result academic in any case. However, it remained a mildly disappointing outing for the Birds, who will have to find another level if they are to finally make it back to the S-League before their best players decline.
Though it was always likely to be in vain, Grilled spared no effort in assembling the best available side for their trip to Ground Zero. Their only other visit, fifteen seasons ago, saw them go down 2-3 from a Tayyup Nazim brace, and while Grilled got their own back at The Cooking Pot earlier in the season, The Void Deck are still formidable foes on home ground.
Working on a shoestring budget, Void's Iranian coach Ahmad Tavousi has nevertheless managed to form his available personnel into a cohesive unit, capable of more than holding its own against far more expensive-assembled teams. Their only league losses have come away against United and Grilled, for which much has to be attributed to their midfield partnership of Sylvain Lerouvillois and Rudolf Harciník.
The Birds' response to this formidable reputation was to field
Ling Fuquan as a makeshift right winger, ahead of
Low Aik Jia. In defence,
Gene Filippone would stay further back, to accomodate the Belgian
Nicola Vandeneynde as a defensive midfielder, possible thanks to Void starting only one striker in Robban Kjellholt.
Having won their last two by five goals or more, the hosts were not lacking for assurance, and gave
Wong Tian Han scant respect with their shoot on sight policy. That was actually justified given their formation, and Bertold Goekint nearly had a contender for goal of the season, when he returned one of Wong's free-kicks on the fly in the 17th minute. This sailed well over the desperately retreating goalie, but managed to bounce over the crossbar and spare Wong's blushes.
Niculae Stanca's push for a high line came apart soon after. 23 minutes had passed when Vandeneynde's lack of defensive experience exposed itself, as he allowed Kjellholt to throw him off balance with an exaggerated drop of the shoulder. Wingback Ade Brown made his way infield as the Swede tied Filippone up, and Brown would finish sweetly with a hard-hit grounder.
At the same time, Void's defence, expertly marshalled by Iván Aldana, was giving Grilled's forwards no space to breathe. Aided by an accommodating midfield whenever there was the slightest sign of them getting into trouble, Aldana and company gave a magnificent lesson on how to deal with the Birds honestly.
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim was frustrated enough to kick his boot off at half-time, after making sure that none of the match officials were looking.
It would take a bit more than that to shut out the Birds, however, and the second half saw the visitors refreshed and refocused. Passing rather more snappily, their newfound urgency had Void scrambling for once, and
Tian Yonghang took his league tally to ten goals with a classy juke past Antonio Gerardo Paoletti, before continuing around Jose Manuel Markmann in a duel of captains.
That breathed further life into Grilled, and it was Void's turn to be reactive.
Chow Ying Lee's pace began to cause problems as he engaged Void's defenders in turn, and eventually there were enough holes for Tian to sneak behind right as
Gene Filippone released it high. Markmann was not about to come out second best again, though, and covered Tian's angles perfectly.
Markmann was undeniably Void's star turn for the second half, as he singlehandedly kept them in it at times. Somehow, he prevented the Birds from finding the net in the torrid five-minute stretch that followed Tian's goal, despite more than a few efforts that seemed to be going in. Finally, Markmann put his body on the line with an unhesitating dive just as
Zhao Jing Wei swung his leg, and thereby earned his team a much-appreciated breather - and Zhao a yellow.
Grilled kept this up after Markmann received treatment, but Void somehow survived. Mohd Safri appeared to have hit the winner with a delightful little chip, but Markmann got a fingertip onto that, and it wound up coming off the angle between bar and post. No problem,
Woon Shun An had rushed forward... but the midfielder blasted it wide with the goalmouth gaping.
It wound up not to matter as United held comfortably on to their 3-1 half-time lead at Old Trafford, and Stanca afforded himself a half-smile as he motioned for
Rashid bin Ahmad to hold ground for the last five minutes.
