Wielim Wipeout
No Teeth
Wielim Poznań demonstrated just why they were in the Polish top division, as they collected their seventh Turniej im.Witolda Pileckiego cup with meticulous control against the Birds. Grilled had elected for the extra man in defence, but it was never going to work with their main strength dulled.
With Mohd Safri still some way from match readiness, and after
Che Harun bin Sabtu's lukewarm display yesterday, new head coach
Djan Bacelar decided not to tax the veteran any further, and instead drafted
Nicola Vandeneynde as a defensive midfielder, with the intention that Grilled win and hold possession.
That they did, but Poznań's tactician Joni Virkamäki had it all thought out. They relied on the tried-and-tested 4-4-2, which may be regarded in some quarters as unimaginative; Poznań's men however soon reminded the spectators that it remains a potent formation when properly deployed, as they doubled up on the wings to suffocate Grilled's attacks.
The hosts then went on to take the lead from their first attempt, with
Wong Tian Han only able to shake his head in disbelief after Angolan legend Nuno Sérgio Alves Simões flicked it over his head with his heel. With 71 senior caps under his belt, Simões had certainly seen it all, and was clearly intending that all along when Óscar de Carvalho lofted it towards him.
Overall, the match was probably than the scoreline made it out to be, and
Tian Yonghang shone for the remainder of the half. After
Ling Fuquan got the only booking of the match for holding Simões back, Tian strutted the stuff at the other end, getting the drop on Haluk Saltık several times. Unfortunately, his following strikes either hit the woodwork, or were stopped on the line.
Grilled kept the heat up, and
Chow Ying Lee looked near-certain to score when he charged through after forty minutes. Chow opted for power over accuracy, though, and Franciszek Gocławski managed to bat it wide. Andrea Benigno saved a corner with his speed, and on the ensuing counterattack, Víctor Echezuría came within a whisker but was likewise denied by
Wong Tian Han.
Being one-nil down at the break was perhaps harsh on the Birds, who had created plenty. Poznań were not playing to justify statistics, though, and they were if anything better at shutting down Grilled's attacks as the game went on.
Low Aik Jia's stamina issues again showed as he failed to pace himself, and soon former English youth international Callum Lawlor was giving him the runaround on the left.
It was hard at first to see what Virkamäki was intending by bringing former Azerbaijani international goalkeeper Ələmdar Nərimanlı on in the 69th minute, but the Birds quickly discovered the supernatural reflexes that had won him fifty-eight caps, after another Chow would-be equaliser was clawed away from the top corner.
The dam finally broke, as Poznań countered immediately, with Low trailing Lawlor pitifully as they made their move down the left. The Birds had the numbers in the middle, but Víctor Echezuría had chosen his moment well, and the Spanish forward flew ahead of
Gene Filippone to get a head on the incoming cross, dropping it past Wong and inside the far post.
That broke the Birds, and Echezuría followed with a second within three minutes, as Lawlor basically had free run now. All that possession crumbled to dust as Poznań made the most of what they had, with Simões distracting with a cheeky dummy before Echezuría buried it classily.
Georgian international winger Eldar Bolotashvili then embellished the score with a fourth on a breakaway, as Grilled milled about aimlessly.
