Werwer Worn Out
Chow Cleans Up
Moldovan II.2 visitors Werwer33 were ground down by the Birds' uncompromising sequence of unending attacks, but did manage several goals of their own, to keep things interesting for the 5500 at The Cooking Pot. Although
Dan Seng was clearly rusty between the sticks, the proficiency of Grilled's strikers meant that he ended up on the winning end.
Seng was detailed for his first start in a long, long time, after what some have whispered to be personal issues, and he duly botched his first clearance by booting it into the stands under no pressure. He was soon on vacation however as the Birds took the game to Werwer33, as
Pompeo Bellamoli gave Mişa Gîrleanu a lot to think about.
Neither Bellamoli nor
Remco van der Ban were calm enough in front of the net, though, and some rough play from van der Ban and
Chow Ying Lee saw them entering Teofil Winter's book. It could have gotten dicey discipline-wise had
Ling Fuquan not scored when he did, and his 29th minute lob was very welcome indeed.
Tian Yonghang added to Ling's goal soon after as the Birds got their act together, as he picked on the vulnerable Galun incessantly, and finally was able to burn him with a direct dash to score on Eduard Calancea.
Leong replaced Bellamoli over the break, and the newcomer helped solidify Grilled's lead by distracting Brito, who thereby turned his way into an onrushing
Chow Ying Lee. Calencia was still thinking about whether to commit, when Chow drove past him for an easy put-in.
Visiting coach Roberto Frazão was not prepared to take this lying down, and got regular winger Yuliy Odesyt in for the less-than effective Aneste. He had an instant impact, pulling Grilled's defence wide for Martin Voráček to waltz in and reduce.
Werwer33 made a match of it just five minutes later, thanks to another hometown boy in Mişa Gîrleanu being fastest on the draw when Seng fumbled Mişa Gîrleanu's smashed strike, and Ling could only clear it partially.
The small away contingent were however deflated when Chow put his pace to good use barely a couple of minutes later, however, and
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim's accurate pop from the restart meant that Werwer33 were once more staring at a three-goal deficit.
With few options remaining, Frazão made another change, bringing in the experienced Toader Carpov, who wasted little time before chipping Seng for 5-3. They would make no other headway, though, and it was Mohd Safri who nearly had the last work with a delightful first-time volley that went inches wide.
