STMJ Stymied
Dominating As Always
Domenik Bögengang smashed in two on his re-debut with Grilled, as they spanked Woodlands IV.46 leaders STMJ United eight-nil in a one-sided Emerald Challenger Cup contest. Third-choice goalie
Dan Seng moreover claimed a clean sheet after
Krystian Rykowski was left out, while
Woon Shun An gingerly worked his way back into match fitness with an uneventful second-half appearance.
STMJ had survived some close encounters in their Cup run thus far, but the Birds were a whole new kettle of fish. The heavily-expat side, led by Italian livewire Massimo Lucariello, pinned their hopes on disciplined counterattacking, but were not given the wherewithal by the wounded Grilled, who were aching to snap a three-game losing streak.
With ball retention never been one of STMJ's strong points, Grilled found it easy to hold out for clear openings, one of which came in the eleventh minute. Their opponents had clustered in their own defensive area by now, but there was still room for
Wong Ping Shun to operate. The big winger, playing out of defence, barged his way past the gangly Batrić Ratković to pump in the opener.
STMJ continued waiting for their opportunity, but would only fall further behind as the Birds pressed on.
Ling Fuquan unleashed some of his usually-suppressed attacking instincts tearing down the left flank, and put it in for Chicken Wings senior
Zhao Jing Wei to volley past Andrzej Efner on the fly.
The writing was on the wall well before
Wong Ping Shun hammered a free-kick through it and straight into goal in the 28th minute, with point man
Leong Wan Kang having already made it three just seconds before. STMJ then stabilized the situation slightly, with Efner making an excellent save off
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim's eye-opening blind chip, in the process drawing a yellow on Leong for taking the latter's rash charge.
With this particular stage of the bigger quest mostly complete, Luis Alcántara allowed Woon - who seems to have been granted a nickname by the Birds' support - on at half-time. He looked noticeably less dynamic than before, however, and would soon be overshadowed by a later entrant:
Domenik Bögengang.
While it was likely that few in attendance had actually seen the German live in his first five-season long stay, they would soon witness his effectiveness for themselves, as Bögengang duly won his first header with some height to spare. His touch appeared a little off, though, as he skewed a promising setup disappointingly wide in the 67th minute.
It turned out that it was merely not his time yet. STMJ were doing admirably in keeping the worst of the Birds' depredations away, but by the last ten minutes, their resolve had begun to wane.
Tian Yonghang drew a free-kick dancing down the right, which
Wong Ping Shun drove low inside against all expectations. Bögengang had seen it all, however, and was first to reach and turn it in.
The old newcomer was duly piled on by his teammates in celebration, and this kicked off another round of plundering by Grilled. Nico-Jan Kromberg scrambled to clear
Chow Ying Lee's swirling attempt off the line, but this only delayed the inevitable as
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim then headed in off the corner.
More was to come from Bögengang, who immediately after cut through the middle of the disspirited STMJ backline for the seventh. Chow then added to a remarkably consistent season by flashing his pace at just the right instant, to advance just as
Clément Meyer bent it around the back.