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| FIXTURE HISTORY |
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| Season 58 | W | 5 - 1 | Tournament (Group Phase) | | Season 57 | L | 2 - 1 | League | | Season 57 | W | 4 - 1 | League | | Season 56 | L | 2 - 3 | Tournament (Group Phase) | | Season 53 | L | 1 - 4 | Friendly |
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Dialled Up
Injury Wracked
The Birds kept on adding to their string of firsts as they savoured their maiden victory at singnet_utd's Spare No Prisoners stadium. This feat did not come easy as the rain-drenched derby was vigorously contested by all involved, and resulted in four players having to be stretchered off hurt.
singnet_utd's Jurong arena was barely half-filled at kick-off, which other than the weather, could be attributed to their worst start in their current seven season-long S-League tenure. Not only that, they would be without national midfielder Fang Kunxian, who shone in this fixture last term, while fullbacks Tellis Rouvas and Ruben Weikamp were also out through suspension and injury respectively.
The hosts are rightly famed for their squad depth, though, and under-fire Canadian head coach Joseph Gardiner took it further with his aggressive approach to the game. Badly in need of points, Gardiner adapted to his shortage of defenders by reverting to a 2-5-3, with Ling Zhicheng expected to keep it all together in the middle.
Their loyal supporters were understandably not overly optimistic, given their recent 1-5 defeat to Grilled in the Singapore Masters, and the damp ground being less than ideal for their pacy style, but their team outdid expectations with a strong start. Dutch playmaker Addie Mes directed passes intelligently, and his mobile teammates were more than willing to provide ready outlets.
Their breakthrough came in the 28th minute when Eduard Wendt switched flanks to double up down the left, and to make it even worse for the Birds,
Zhu Changchun pulled his hamstring chasing Wendt in vain, and would have to come off for
Zhao Jing Wei;
Tian Yonghang then shot right into Nicola Pillitu from five yards, spoiling Grilled's bid at a quick equaliser.
The home side were beginning to believe, and more dynamic play should have brought them a second. Franciszek Mostowski had to go off after a nasty cut on the forehead, courtesy of
Gene Filippone's skull, and strike partner Hong Kunqi unleashed the free-kick without warning.
Wong Tian Han was well beaten, but the ball then came harmlessly off the underside of the bar, to much dismay from the stands.
It seemed a matter of time as singnet_utd continued their bombardment of the Grilled goal, with half-time merely the prelude to another fierce assault. Hong again got creative with the dead ball, but this time Wong at least made himself useful by plucking Frédéric Piaud's finish out of the air.
That would be Hong's last contribution for the day, however, after he hobbled to a stop following a clash of shins with
Woon Shun An. To add to the pain, Joachim Wujczak had barely set foot on the field, when
Chow Ying Lee broke away from just over the halfway line, and nutmegged Jaakko Jämsén en route to levelling the score.
singnet_utd still had the firepower, but Pietro Gilardone found out that Wong was capable of some stupendous saves, after he had done everything else right in the 59th minute. The Birds for their part were realising that getting physical was working, and kept up with it. Although Tian would be booked for a robust tackle on Jämsén,
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim made it all worthwhile by dashing past the struggling Finn to give Grilled the lead immediately afterwards.
The home fans hung on to their convictions, and brightened considerably when left winger Frédéric Piaud added to a terrific outing with a silky answer within the next four minutes. They could not however believe it when they lost yet another forward after that,
Chow Ying Lee having plowed at full tilt into Luigi Antonio Restelli in what looked like a total accident.
Referee Eloi Bayo elected to book Chow for that just in case, which however did little to console the fans, given that they had not only lost three of their best men, but also the leadership that they needed to see this one out. William Fougeroux subbed in for Restelli, but it was evident that he had not completely recovered from his bruised ribs from the midweek Cup fixture either.
Their worst fears then materialized as
Low Aik Jia peeled away on the left with Wendt helping out inside. Jämsén tried to screen Low out, but had little left to give after a gruelling tour of duty, and Low's short layoff found Mohd Safri ready to clock the winner with a faultless howitzer to the top corner.
