Home Comforts
Eagle Tames Tigers
Rinor Isufi got his Birds career off on the right foot - his own right foot, in fact - as he crashed in a power-packed second-half goal before a mix of his hometown fans and a handful of dedicated Grilled diehards. A later miss suggested that the former U-20 striker still had some way to mature, however, but from the energy he exuded, it should not be a big problem.
The Albanian fourth division hosts would have Italian trainee Samuel Garreffa eager to make a name for himself, while the 20 year-old Rinim Llazari was the closest thing that they had to an Isufi. For Grilled, their first friendly after their cup exploits would be an exhibition of forwards past and present, with
Chow Ying Lee at the point, and flanked by old darlings
Domenik Bögengang and
Che Harun bin Sabtu.
The star of the day remained, obviously,
Rinor Isufi, who was given freedom to flit between midfield and attack as desired. Grilled's newest signing made full use of this tactical assignment, but Garreffa made it his job to shadow Isufi, and did not let himself down.
Grilled's warning broadside came from a rather more established combination, though, and four minutes in,
Tian Yonghang slung a drifting pass on the run, straight into the space in front of
Chow Ying Lee. Chow reacted instantly and whipped it towards the far post before Gur Meksi could insert himself, but goalkeeper Vullkan Rraci read the shot well.
The Tigers were not taking it easy, and Bögengang was fortunate to escape with a scuffed sock when Eriseld Haxhimihali dove in on him in the eighth minute. Haxhimihali was booked, and Grilled's offensive grind continued, until Chow finally found the net in the 20th with his oldest trick in the book - the up and run.
Other than that lapse, Tirane Tigers' defenders were actually coping fine, much of which was down to the lack of pace of Grilled's tribute forward line. It was down to
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim to slam one wide from way outside the box as the half wound to an end, followed by Bögengang's vast experience eventually finding application, as he improvised a no-look header. Rraci was on his toes, though, and saved that too, to much appreciation from the stands.
There would be a couple of changes on either side of the interval, as first the Tigers' Ottavio Ledda could not continue, due to his re-aggravation of an old wrist injury. As for Grilled, Luis Alcántara decided that
Leong Wan Kang would play the second half in place of
Chow Ying Lee, a sure starter against Pearl Divers on Sunday.
The Birds didn't take much time at all to adjust, and Leong won a free-kick even before touching the ball, thanks to a slightly dodgy fall upon contact with Meksi.
Che Harun bin Sabtu rolled back the years with an impressively precise curler at the top corner, but who else but Rraci would get his fingers to that effort too.
It was looking more and more like the Tigers goalkeeper had become unbeatable, when the guest of honour's turn came.
Rinor Isufi had started slowly, this being his first game with his new teammates after all, but by the second half, he had gotten the hang of the Birds' patterns. With Chow no longer on the pitch, Isufi was encouraged to roam higher, and this would pay off in the 69th minute as he selfishly struck instead of passing to the better-positioned Bögengang - but it went in anyway.
Bögengang, himself old-fashioned that way, understood perfectly, and with Che Harun also rushing to join in the celebrations, that made three current and former Number Nines dancing on the sidelines.
The hosts weren't seeing the funny side of things, however, and veteran skipper Sejfulla Harxhi hollered for improved supply. It was not forthcoming, and the Birds soon won a corner at the other end. Romanian teenager Marin Curelaru decided to park himself clearly less than the requisite ten yards from the flag, and was given a yellow card and told to move away. It didn't help in the end, as
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim dominated in the air, to score an easy third.
Isufi could have made it a brace on his debut in the 83rd minute, as the home defence made a rare positional mistake. However, faced with only Rraci, he put it over the bar, and immediately stomped the ground in disgust, which probably bodes well for his Grilled future.
