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| FIXTURE HISTORY |
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| Season 56 | W | 1 - 8 | Tournament (Group Phase) |
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Gently Charbroiled
The Wong-Chow Show
Grilled returned to the S-League on a winning note by edging fellow newcomers Charis FC in their comeback game, but there were some nervy moments at The Cooking Pot as the visitors nearly scratched out a draw against a depleted Birds team in the last few minutes.
The name of the game had always been to keep Charis FC from getting anywhere near reserve goalkeeper
Krystian Rykowski, for all his professing that he was up to the job. The Birds had no injury concerns elsewhere at least, and were able to field
Djan Bacelar's preferred XI.
Charis FC for their part were partaking of their first taste of the top division, though credentialed by their running away with the II.4 title against a tough field comprising Shining Lights, Random Curiosity FC and Edbe FC, among others. Theirs was a settled side, with their last big buy being Hong Kong star Cheng Yuanyu for S$9.6 million.
Cheng would be detailed, along with Spanish Number Nine David Ternero, to stay upfield as the rest of their comrades worked counterattacks for them, or at least that was what Tronje Isegrimm's 5-3-2 indicated. Grilled clearly recognized that this would be a common sight at home, however, and put the heat on as early as they could.
The opponents were admittedly doing a fine job at choking off openings near their own penalty area, what with Samuel Lazo Garcia fulfilling the stopper role with some relish. He was probably rather pleased with himself for bumping
Zhao Jing Wei off the ball some way out, before Zhao had a chance to deliver a pass... until
Wong Ping Shun fired the free-kick unstoppably into the roof of the net, from twenty-five metres out.
Grilled's Player of the Year in his first full season was far from done, as his physical style again posed a problem for wing defences rather more used to modern-day pacy tricksters. Former Ukrainian youth international Erwin Pitra couldn't get stuck in as Wong was determined to cut inside on the half-hour, and his left-footed finish was too much for Indonesian goalie Vino Purwanto to hold onto.
Charis FC mustered a decent foray down the right, which however puttered out as favourite son Ang Leong Kum connected weakly with Ido Duek's long cross. Down it went down the right again, and
Chow Ying Lee had to overextend himself to reach Wong's inswinger, and was fortunate in that Julio Humberto Comitini applied an additional slight touch that took it past Purwanto.
Three-nil up with barely a third of the match gone, this was turning out to be a dream arrival for the Birds, whose supporters were starting to ham it up. This overconfidence was duly corrected, with Charis FC skipper David Chauvet leading a concerted charge through the middle, and winding up with his club's first-ever S-League goal from Cheng's tee-up.
Despite the half coming to an end, none of the participants had any intention of slowing down. Wong made it two assists to go with his two goals, as Chow blasted another of his many crosses in... before former national U-20 winger Ang compensated for his earlier miscue with an effective chip over Rykowski in added time.
The first half was all that the Grilled faithful had expected and more, who had to impatiently endure the interval. No changes were made, and the Birds returned to their possession-based game, while Charis FC continued banking on the counters that had worked twice for them thus far.
It was possession that was king, though, and Grilled captain and II.2 top scorer
Tian Yonghang announced his arrival in the 56th minute with some fanfare. A five-man backline is the bane of any forward's existence, but Tian made it look downright paper-thin with his perfectly-calculated dribble past multiple defenders. Purwanto came out to meet him, but was beaten as Tian released a shot under him at the exact right instant.
The game was beginning to resemble a walk in the park, with Grilled casually rolling it between themselves in their own half with the crowd well up for it. It was all coming along quite nicely, up until the 68th minute, when Chauvet raked his studs down Tian's right calf. It appeared accidental, but Tian didn't see it that way, and reacted by slamming the back of his head into Chauvet's chest.
At this, referee Alexander Kronberger decided he had seen enough, and went straight for his red card. It was only then that Tian realised what he had done, but it was all too late. If it was any consolation, Grilled had a three goal cushion with only about twenty minutes remaining, and
Zhu Changchun reprised his role as replacement skipper, following a nod from official deputy Zhao.
Tian's departure soon revealed how critical he was for the team, and the Birds were soon badly missing their attacking fulcrum. Passes were going astray, and Charis FC saw their chance. Ang stepped up to the plate, thriving in all the extra room he had to work up, and fed David Ternero with an unmissable low square ball in the 80th minute.
With Grilled suddenly looking very vulnerable, and Charis FC eager to capitalize, it all turned nasty with petty fouls left and right. Matters came to a head with five minutes to go, as Ido Duek and
Zhao Jing Wei nearly came to blows after trying to slide in on each other. Their teammates had to separate them, and Kronberger dished out yellows all around.
Hearts were well and truly in mouths when Peter Voipio pulled his side to within one goal as the seemingly indefatigable Garcia burst through the middle with ball at feet, and the Birds took no chances by putting it out of play at every opportunity, which did secure the all-important three points.
