Six Che-Cheers
bin Sabtu's Half Dozen
Returning striker
Che Harun bin Sabtu enjoyed one heck of a gift a day after his 37th birthday, as he picked Venezuelan visitors Aricagua Devils off for six goals in a complete exhibition of finishing skill, the likes of which has seldom been seen at The Cooking Pot in a single match. While the Devils were not at their strongest, it should still not take anything away from his astounding display.
Some have attributed the forward's arrival as a sentimental gimmick, despite his decent goal return in the Cup, and it was a tag Che Harun had never managed to fully shrug off, following several less-than convincing outings. Today, however, he finally threw off his shackles to regain the deadliness that had seen him clock thirteen hat-tricks and two Golden Boots in his long career, to the enduring horror of opposing goalkeeper Stefano Gatta.
There were few signs in the first half an hour that such a feat was in the making, as the visitors held their own, under the firm hand of Spanish skipper Kerry Stoker. With Przemysław Rękas keeping
Rashid bin Ahmad honest at the other end, the Birds were in control but hardly cruising, and
Zhu Changchun's 26th minute bolt from the blue that went narrowly over was their only attempt of note.
The Devils looked good for a draw till the 37th minute, when Che Harun claimed what appeared to be a poorly-situated free-kick. Indeed, he bent it in seemingly much too close to the keeper, but somehow nobody managed to get on the end of it, and the ball wound up bouncing innocently into the far corner just like that.
This was not received well by Gatta, but his troubles would only compound after Cosme Mercado came close to an instant reply for the Devils.
Ling Fuquan led the counter down the right, and from his floated cross, Che Harun headed it off player-coach Jonathan van Nimwegen to leave Gatta completely wrong-footed.
Neither of those two goals could be said to be intentional, and there was likewise some question over the rocket from nearly thirty-metres, off a free-kick awarded due to Donald Wołosowicz's rash challenge on
Tian Yonghang. Che Harun may well not hit another like that in his career, but it nevertheless completed his hat-trick - and soon afterwards his fourth came, from a routine central attack.
Everything that he was touching was turning into goals, and the bulk of the five-thousand odd fans in attendance could do nothing but to fete him with a standing ovation at the end of the half, a response almost unheard of for a mere friendly.
van Nimwegen's half-time change had youngsters Camilo Mudafar and Lorenzo Guerrero come in, in an effort to spark the Devils into life. It didn't quite work out as planned, though, as they found themselves sinking further within the next three minutes -
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim's header on from an indirect free-kick was crashed home by
Leong Wan Kang, before Che Harun, who could seemingly not put a foot wrong, simply swung and connected for 6-0 straight afterwards.
Wołosowicz did retain some pride for his team with a well-taken brace in the next ten minutes, attributable to some hard work from the subs, but nothing was going to steal the focus off Che Harun, who made it six for himself in between. His second hat-trick was completed after a brilliant dribble, that saw him beat two men as he cut sharply inside.
Up went the spectators again as Che Harun lapped it in happily, but despite the yells for more from the crowd, he would not manage to break the goals per game record outright, with the scoring concluding off
Chow Ying Lee and
Pompeo Bellamoli's strikes. Following
Ling Fuquan's dismissal for bad conduct, Grilled's fountain of chances further dried up completely, leaving them to take a 9-2 win.
