Freezeburned
Tian Takes It Out
Grilled paid a visit to Dominican Republic third division side A Team Of Ice And Fire, and painted Winterfell Arena red with their relentless offensive. ATOIAF, who are under the same ownership as Peruvian club Malleus hereticorum, had won their last six competitive matches, but was completely at a loss against the Birds' pent-up energies.
This was not totally unexpected given that ATOIAF had seen fit to give their backups a run-out, which left the hardworking Antonio Fulignati to eke openings out for himself up top. Their kamikaze style of no defence played further to Grilled's advantage, and it was a wonder that it took fifteen minutes before
Leong Wan Kang tapped the first one in.
The home side came back strongly, and hometown boy Carlos Alberto Pereda blew past a wrongfooted
Tian Yonghang after the kick-off was lofted before him. Hungarian forward Balázs Hajdu saw his chance, and together the duo cut a wide swathe down the right, in a crowd-pleasing move that ended with Hajdu squeezing his shot past
Dan Seng.
It would be but a temporary respite for ATOIAF, and some ten minutes later,
Clark Won opened his Grilled account with a cool chip over Odoacre Sanne. The midfielder had not had the easiest of times after his arrival, having missed a crucial shootout spot kick and put in a couple of middling shifts. This contribution therefore appeared to be a sort of catharsis for Won, who however kept up his usual understated front with a low-key celebration.
Next to enjoy himself was Tian, as the Grilled skipper got used to being on the wing. Trainee Daniel Igartua was taught a valuable lesson on always keeping his eye on the ball, as the Singapore international robbed him and dumped a third in. Tian's next one was simply sheer class, as he sent
Che Harun bin Sabtu's tee-up sailing into the roof of the net with an artfulness that even some of the home fans had to appreciate.
Not that they were ever too worked up about the scoreline, given the smiles throughout.
Pompeo Bellamoli received a warm reception after his genial wave to the crowd upon coming in for Che Harun after the break.
Leong Wan Kang dropped back further after this switch, and got an assist in the 59th minute alongside
Tian Yonghang flicking in his hat-trick goal.
This was also the end of Hajdu's participation, after he turned his ankle trying to block Tian's effort. The Grilled captain's nice gesture of helping the ATOIAF player to his feet did his popularity no harm, but Won was not quite as polite as he drove strongly down the left despite Antoine Weiss still waiting to come on. Sanne opted to stay on his line, and actually did nearly manage to reach Won's strike.
Igartua's less-than-developed defensive sense forced him into some questionable tackles, and he was finally called out on it in the 71st minute.
Lee Lee Hao and
Low Aik Jia would then bring the exhibition to a close with a final score of 8-1, while José Antonio Ivanenko's late attempt to win a free-kick drew much amusement from the spectators, which however did not save him from being booked too.
