Fiorenzola Fired
Bellamoli Bumped Out
Grilled made their return to Spain with a bang, as their first visit in seventeen seasons saw them reap a 7-1 win against Catalan Division Five fiorenzola. Dressed in their customary all-purple kit, they stuck to a free-flowing short passing game centered around Swedish centerpiece Tomas Kullenbratt, but the rest of their backups were not quite up to rolling with the Birds' big guns.
The home fans were anticipating this one, given how their side had won their last four friendlies on the road, and over 5300 gathered at the 55256-seater Comunale Artemio Franchi despite the unforgiving sun. Grilled had reverted to training mode after their successful Challenger Cup run, and
Tian Yonghang for one was raring to go after involuntarily sitting out Sunday's league match.
The raucous CURVA FIESOLE were firmly behind their team, particularly their fully homegrown strikeforce, while former Guatemalan international winger Kenny Lugo was another huge draw. However, it would be another winger who would steal the limelight, as
Low Aik Jia breezed through in the seventh minute to deftly send a chip over Manolo Guereca for one-nil.
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim kept his feet hot with a volleyed goal next, but the home side were not deterred, and Enrique Maestre Zapata got much applause for his saving tackle on
Chow Ying Lee. Tian struck that right into the wall, upon which Kullenbratt hammered it straight through the middle, where unlikely target Isaak Ubillagoia latched on and ran it by a cowed
Krystian Rykowski.
fiorenzola would themselves be done in similar fashion, though, as Grilled's restart had Mohd Safri thread it for point man
Colby Awyong to nick in. Zapata harangued Belgian referee Eli Danneels for letting this stand, while replays indiciated that Awyong might have been marginally offside, but succeeded only in getting himself ordered away by Danneels.
Admirably, the spectators largely took it in stride, and the players actually seemed to be having fun attempting moves that would probably have earned them reprimands in serious matches. Kullenbratt showboated now and then, while
Low Aik Jia gained not a few admirers with his almost Latin penchant for overdribbling.
Low's flashiness however cost him a second goal, as he elected to try a bicycle kick instead of simply nodding it in from three yards as a corner came in. His loss was
Leong Wan Kang's gain, as the latter stabbed it in with his heel in response.
Pompeo Bellamoli then profited from Guereca's error, as the ex-Los Bizcochitos goalkeeper moved prematurely in the wrong direction as Mohd Safri approached. The heat was taking its toll by now, but
Colby Awyong had reserved enough to sprint forward level with Chow, and offer himself as an outlet right in front of goal. Chow obliged, and Colby couldn't miss the sitter.
Tian would up it to 7-1 with practised precision in the 67th minute, before Bellamoli's fine day was ended at the business end of a reckless Zapata scything tackle. With Zapata already on a yellow, there was no way he was staying on after that, but neither was Grilled's Italian forward, who had to be carried off.
Che Harun bin Sabtu entered only to fluff a late penalty, which together with a near-miss from Tian closed the curtain on a rather relaxing exercise.
