Polonia Neutralised
Dual Double
Grilled advanced to the finals of Turniej im.Witolda Pileckiego, but it was against an under-strength FC Polonia-Neutrina Bydgoszcz, who inexplicably kicked off with just ten men. Unexpectedly, Polonia did not attempt a substitution, and the Birds were not about to complain, as they booked their ticket with a 6-1 win.
Cordt Maisel advanced into a defensive midfield position as the hosts banked on their usual practice of striking from deep, which Grilled were however well prepared for. They made it a higher priority than usual not to dally in their own third, and managed to largely contain the opposition within their own half.
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim opened in the 23rd minute, assisted by new Player of the Year
Wong Ping Shun.
Polonia were visibly starved for openings, but made the most of what they had in the 32nd minute, after a notable effort from captain Rudolph Wörns had to be pushed over the bar by
Wong Tian Han. Sensing that they might not get many of these, Polonia flooded the Grilled penalty area, and big Finnish defender Jarkko Kaukoranta scattered his markers with a monster header into the bottom corner.
They barely had time to celebrate when
Gene Filippone negated that, again from
Wong Ping Shun's dominance down the right, and
Chow Ying Lee put a third in after a confident dummy from
Tian Yonghang. Polonia were reeling, and while Costa Rican midfielder Roy Blanco tried for the jackpot with some audacious attempts, it was the Birds who went further up just before half time through
Woon Shun An.
Of course, this was all a little unfair given that Polonia had started a man down, but Grilled were not about to disgrace the occasion by giving less than their all.
Chow Ying Lee, and then Mohd Safri, found the net in the second half to make it five each in the tournament, before
Gene Filippone was denied twice by Guillaume Boyer.
