Stars Set
Four For Fightback
Grilled Birds recovered from being two down against All Stars Team to take the points on their waterlogged Woodlands pitch. Coupled with the torrential rainfall, the Stars' persistent pressing appeared to have won them the match by the 13th minute, but the Birds' raw quality proved to be too much for the hosts to keep under wraps for an entire match.
All Stars Team were fresh off their big away result against -= Manchester United =-, but had lost to Grilled in all four of their previous competitive meetings. Given that the most recent series had been in the top flight 23 seasons ago, however, it was never going to be considered a reliable predictor, and with captain Costinel Puşcaşu excellent as a coordinator on the left, their home fans were clearly eager to see a first.
With
Zhu Changchun recovered and returned to central midfield, though, the Birds were back to full strength there, even as
Clément Meyer was deployed as a tucked-in winger to further boost that department.
Woon Shun An was once again in his element, as he bulldozed his way to an apparently unwinnable ball from kick-off.
Stars were prepared, though, and aided by the weather, they began methodically closing off the Birds' attacking routes. It wasn't pretty to watch, but undeniably effective, and the supporters didn't seem to care once Andrei Udrică slogged his way to the other end and crashed the opener past
Wong Tian Han.
Before Grilled had digested what happened, Stars followed that up with a second, as on-form young Irish forward Brian Kearney heaved his way past
Gene Filippone to slug another in. Wong might have a legitimate complain about being blinded by flying mud as the two hacked away in the appalling conditions, but that was not about to disqualify the goal.
Of course, this only gave the hosts more encouragement to continue with their close coverage, and the Birds didn't look as if they had a plan for a moment. Still, their usual game was enough to win an indirect free-kick in the 17th minute, which
Wong Ping Shun floated inside without trying anything too clever.
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim missed contact, but in a stroke of luck this distracted the defenders and goalie sufficiently for
Chow Ying Lee to get it in.
Grilled had their fair share of rough play, which led to
Zhao Jing Wei being booked for a bad foul on Ayal Nizan, twenty-four minutes in. All in all, Stars' pressing strategy was working as they had expected, but Wong showed that it only takes an instant to dismantle even the most active defence, as he bent in a cross that
Gene Filippone headed past Harald Colman, right on the half-hour.
Getting to half-time on equal terms was about as good as the Birds could expect, considering all factors, and given that Stars were making protecting a point their main priority. Also, their main offensive creator Erlantz Garrido Ochando was himself badly hampered, along with Chow who despite scoring could hardly move at even half the speed he is known for.
The deadlock would only be broken by someone at home in the conditions, and it was
Wong Ping Shun who galloped past all comers in the 69th minute. Portuguese fullback Abílio Jacobetty, himself no pansy, placed himself in Wong's path, but Grilled's big winger barely slowed as he mowed past to give his side the lead.
Wong almost immediately after picked up a yellow card for placing hands on the defender, but since that happened after the ball had crossed the line, Alessandro Anfuffo again had no call to disallow it. Stars now had to reply, but were by now too entrenched in a conservative mindset, and were hit on the blind side by
Tian Yonghang, who even had the time to pick himself up from a slip beforehand.
That was enough for the goalscoring skipper, who flirted with a caution for taunting the home fans in his excitement, and Grilled indeed sat on their advantage handily, as a couple of tactical substitutions ate away the seconds.
