Charge Crushed
Tian's Tender Touch
Grilled made short work of former II.2 rivals Batavia Cavaliers as
Tian Yonghang reached the 200 competitive goal milestone, joining
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim as only the fourth member of that exclusive club for the Birds. Both had previously found the net against Cavaliers back in the second division, and they would do it again as capped internationals in the Sapphire Challenger Cup.
Batavia Cavaliers had, like Grilled, beaten the side that had knocked them out of the main cup, having dealt The Black Hole a 2-0 defeat, a fortnight after The Black Hole ousted them, 4-3. It has not gone as well for them in II.4, in contrast, as they picked up just two points in the last four rounds.
Again like Grilled, Cavaliers had constructed their team around a formidable forward line, with Mohd Shahril Nizam bin Abu Samah an obvious analogue to the Birds' own Mohd Safri, both wearing No. 18. Phua Shi Tong likewise has been compared to
Chow Ying Lee, but has been suffering from poor confidence of late.
Despite that, Phua was still chosen to start, leaving Prakash Menon, their form player of the season, on the bench. The lack of major squad reinforcements still told, and while 21 year-old youth promotee Chng Wan Ze zipped about midfield, his relative tactical naivety would cost Cavaliers dear.
The Birds were holding little back with the Sapphire Cup their most realistic hope for silverware this season, and to that end they had
Lee Lee Hao return, refreshed from his suspension. Lee was extremely eager to stretch his legs once more, and the usual roles were reversed in the 11th minute as he sent
Wong Ping Shun clear for Wong to tap it in.
Cavaliers trusted in the standard 3-5-2 system, but simply did not have the sustained force required to make Grilled worry, and had to devote their energies to fighting fires. This worked out until just before the half-hour mark, when
Tian Yonghang cut sharply inside to chip it around Norwegian goalie Kenneth Ness.
There were few indications that Batavia Cavaliers would be able to stage a fightback, and such hopes further dwindled as the much-needed break brought little change in their mentality. A rare possession by Mohd Shahril Nizam, who had dropped back in search of the ball, fizzled out, and
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim upped it to 3-0 as the Birds cut right through Cavaliers' out-of-shape middle.
It was becoming an exercise in damage limitation for the Cavaliers, whose less-than-ideal run appeared destined to be extended. Kenneth Ness did all he could with some inspired goalkeeping, which included a near point-blank fingertip stop from
Rashid bin Ahmad, but remained unable to prevent the rather more composed Tian from faking him out to pull Grilled further ahead.
Cavaliers did get a deserved consolation after Frenchman Jérôme Perche showed exceptional determination to break clear of
Wong Ping Shun on the left, and then pick out Yusri bin Haniff with a pinpoint crossfield pass; this would however be cancelled out within two minutes, as Rashid made good on his second chance.
Grilled captain and national striker
Tian Yonghang then put the seal on a very convincing victory, as he skipped Malte Moltrup-Nielsen's vicious sliding tackle with flair, in the process of completing his hat-trick. Cavaliers' Danish centreback would be booked for the attempt after that, but it would be little more than a footnote in the Birds' progression.
