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FIXTURE HISTORY |
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Season 57 | W | 4 - 6 | Cup | Season 57 | W | 5 - 4 | League | Season 56 | W | 1 - 8 | Tournament (Group Phase) |
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No Charity
Ternero Treble
Charis FC's Spanish dazzler David Ternero had struck once in their first clash with Grilled, and twice in their second, so it was not unexpected that he made it three this time. Unfortunately, they would also be his last in the S-League for awhile, as Pearl Divers' win elsewhere meant that nothing bar a complete Birds implosion could save them.
This was all known to the hosts long before Grilled set foot in their Ang Mo Kio stadium for the first time, and it all pointed to Charis FC having the upper hand - not only did they have home advantage, but Grilled additionally had little reason to exert themselves, having already guaranteed a playoff game whatever happened.
Moreover, the scintillating
Low Aik Jia, who had been such a danger down the left, was out through suspension for the Birds. Charis FC did however have a glaring absence of their own - Indonesian custodian Vino Purwanto had eaten a biting tackle playing a friendly in his homeland, which meant that their hopes of survival would lie in the hands of the long-serving but unheralded Cheah Wen Wen.
The free-scoring history between the teams meant that Any Other Score had been assigned less than even odds by bookmakers, and it looked to be the same this time as both attacked with wild abandon - the hosts because they had to, and Grilled as they had little to lose. It was a toss-up as to who would get the breakthrough, and in the end it was Julio Humberto Comitini who headed Ido Duek's eighth-minute cross past the unsighted
Wong Tian Han.
The home fans were jubilant, but not for long, as the visiting Birds equalised five minutes later through a rather pedestrian effort from
Clément Meyer. Worse news soon filtered in, that of Divers' Talip Berfu giving them the lead against singnet_utd. More glumness followed, as centreback Peter Voipio's boot came loose, costing Charis FC another goal as
Wong Ping Shun got away from him.
With their continued presence in the S-League hanging precariously in the balance, Charis FC cast about for a hero, and Ternero stood up in their time of need. The Number Nine had been their saviour more than once, and would be such again as he took on and beat
Gene Filippone in the 26th minute, before drilling one in precisely.
The mood abruptly changed, with singnet_utd showing signs of recovering over in Jurong, and Charis FC pressed for the lead they needed. Grilled responded with a spate of messy challenges, and
Wong Ping Shun's not-fully-intentional raking of Duek's thigh forced the Israeli off. Andrea Festa had barely taken Wong's name when Filippone tried - and failed - to take Ternero's shirt off.
Another yellow card later, the hosts made their play for a third goal, and Bulgarian wingback Asen Kodzhabashev made a beautiful pass straight down the sidelines for newcomer Chow Guang Kian. It was then pulled back in textbook manner for Cheng Yuanyu, but the Hong Kong forward heartbreakingly hit the crossbar with his whipped strike.
Grilled's relaxed attitude throughout was in stark contrast to Charis FC's pensive intent, and unfair as it perhaps was, not trying
too hard appeared to be the winning strategy here. The hosts piled forward from the restart, but a miscued final ball led to a methodical counter composed of simple one-twos, which was then calmly completed by Meyer.
It was not completely true that the Birds had nothing to achieve here - an ever-present subtext had been
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim's unstated but obvious personal quest to score his way back into Golden Boot contention, as his several half-baked attempted in the first half displayed. His turn would finally come in the 55th minute, after
Tian Yonghang lifted it to him. An instinctive chip caught Cheah out of position, and Mohd Safri was within a single goal of the accolade.
Charis FC rose to the provocation, and while some degree of stiffness had crept into their offensive patterns due to the pressure, they were beginning to compensate for the loss of Duek. Chow began to get the measure of Meyer down their right flank, and the substitue would eventually earn his assist, raking a ball across the box to the deadly Ternero, who lapped it up.
Still, this was not going to be enough, and their hopes drew ever dimmer as the overwhelmed Cheah then let a Tian ground slip under him several minutes later. This was followed by the announcement that Rashid Postnikov had put Divers 3-1 up, and to top it all,
Ling Fuquan cleared Kodzhabashev's response off the line.
That said, if Charis FC were to go out, it would be with a bang, and their players were determined to make the most of what could well be their final moments in the top flight. Grilled's half-hearted defensive efforts were no match for their resolve, and Ternero got his hat-trick as Chow again burst clear on the wing.
Comitini then ensured that they would not leave with a defeat, as he lashed a marvelous dipping shot past
Wong Tian Han with five minutes remaining, but their fate was by then already set in stone.