Into The Lions' Den
Low Overstimulation
After getting through the entirety of the second half, as well as a gruelling half-hour of extra time, with just ten men, the Birds were finally put down by Russian Premier Liga champions Vyborg's Lions with their full complement of kicks in the shootout.
Lions, who had just taken their third successive Liga title, and moreover reached the finals of the Hattrick Masters, gamely took to the field with a mix of regulars and second-stringers, the former mostly out of position - strikers Gianni Guidotti and Carsten Kahmann for instance joined Mexican main man Jesús Gaitán in midfield.
Then again, this was Grilled's usual practice in friendlies too, and they were if anything eager to prove themselves against such illustrious opponents. Simply sharing the pitch with Masters top scorer Arturo Le Cobusier was a spur to them, none the least much-maligned third-choice goalkeeper
Dan Seng, who exuded exultation at stripping the ball off Le Cobusier on Lions' first foray.
Attention shifted to the Lions' end as
Chow Ying Lee earned a corner off Yury Klyuchko following Seng's big goal kick. There was stunned silence as
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim flew through the air to convert it without fuss, and the Grilled icon made it a point to rush for his supplier
Rinor Isufi at the corner flag to thank him.
The hosts themselves were unperturbed, and a few minutes later, homegrown youngster Viktor Kuznetsov had them back level. Le Cobusier was once more the main driver as he sold a breathtakingly natural dummy to
Low Aik Jia, before scooting off and releasing a perfect cross before the quicker Low could recover.
Low appeared to take it badly, and the next time he was confronted by the Uruguayan, he did not hesitate to leap in with a tackle. Unfortunately, Le Cobusier hadn't counted on that and simultaneously planted his right ankle into the turf as part of a trick, which duly took the full brunt of Low's weight.
It was immediately clear that the damage done was serious, and the crowd exploded into unmitigated hostility as their hero writhed on the grass; the booing and whistling would continue for long after Romeo Scutelnicu entered as Le Cobusier's replacement, and would dog Low whenever he got involved - which would not be for much longer.
Against all odds, Grilled drew ahead as Chow snuck two poachers' goals with his pace, with
Leong Wan Kang also coming close with a wild strike on a half-chance. Lions, despite enjoying the bulk of possession on their home ground, were uncharacteristically subdued in front of goal. Kahmann did let rip one of his usual piledrivers in the 32nd minute, but
Rashid bin Ahmad bailed Seng out that time with an excellent flying clearance.
Seng however deserved full credit for his reaction save off Artemiy Botkin's header after that, but for better or worse, it would be
Low Aik Jia who would be thrust back into the limelight. With three minutes to the break, the prodigal winger appeared to finally break under the incessant chanting directed at him, and impulsively booted the ball into the stands after being stopped for offside. Referee Mika Huttula had little choice but to book him for a second time, and the booing finally transformed into ironic cheers.
Grilled adjusted by fanning their midfielders out for the second period, with skipper
Tian Yonghang doubling up in Low's role. This he performed admirably well with his undoubted footballing intelligence, and even nearly came up with a fourth in the 56th minute after pouncing on a lazy pass from Georgy Korotkevich. Had it not been for Igor Kulik's quick thinking, Korotkevich would have been extremely embarassed.
Still, saddled with an additional handicap, the Birds would not be able to hold on. Despite being off-colour, Lions maintained their winners' aura about them, and their slow grind eventually had an effect. Yury Klyuchko's finish off Romeo Scutelnicu's breakaway might have been almost fluffed, but it did go in, and that was what mattered most.
Lions were by now fully on the front foot, and Grilled were straining simply to get to the final whistle intact. This would not happen, as Gaitán pulled his seldom-paraded dribbling feats out to equalise in the 76th, though the Birds did prevent them from getting another. Artemiy Botkin looked to have won it for Lions with his powerful header late on, but
Hilal Bakhtiar saved the Birds' bacon by standing his ground at the right goalpost.
It was extra time, then, and Lions decided to add a dash of spice, with Kyrgyzstani national wingback David Ionochkin coming on for the impressive Gaitán. This perhaps did not have the intended effect, as Ionochkin turned out not to have Gaitán's organizational abilities, and bar an abortive indirect free-kick routine that kickstarted the thirty minutes, Lions did not manage a serious attempt on
Dan Seng's goal.
Holding out until penalties could almost be considered an accomplishment for the Birds, under the circumstances, and there were good vibes all around as the first three takers from each side delivered faultlessly from the spot. Quite understandably, Seng wasn't the best at this particular skill, and he put a weak effort into his opposite number's arms, leaving Lions captain Klyuchko to fittingly end the drawn-out struggle with the next kick, put right into the corner.
