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| FIXTURE HISTORY |
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| Season 59 | L | 4 - 2 | League | | Season 58 | W | 3 - 6 | Tournament (Playoffs) | | Season 54 | W | 4 - 6 | Cup | | Season 51 | L | 3 - 5 | Tournament (Playoffs) | | Season 51 | W | 3 - 4 | Tournament (Group Phase) |
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Dubious Payoff
Lee Leads Way
Oft-controversial midfield livewire
Lee Lee Hao willed the Birds to an important 4-3 home win against Random Curiosity FC today, as Grilled offed their fellow Cup semifinalists despite conceding the possession battle. They had competent finishing from their support cast to thank for that, alongside a personal masterclass from goalkeeper
Wong Tian Han, as the visitors poked about industriously for an equaliser until the very end.
Random Curiosity FC, recall, were coming off a very credible draw against eventual cupwinners BCFC, thus becoming the first side to take points off them. Understandably, they kept with the same team that had achieved that feat, though with wingers Dean Nightingale and Haji bin Omar closer to the inside. Vice-captain
Zhao Jing Wei missed out for the Birds again, as did
Low Aik Jia, with
Ang Leong Kum the latest to be tried out on the experimental left flank.
It didn't look good for Grilled after Swedish playmaker Jovan Novaković came out tops in getting to a third minute corner kick, but
Lee Lee Hao responded in kind almost within the minute.
Wong Ping Shun had been one of the few Birds to come out with any merit whatsoever in their recent 2-4 loss to Curiosity, and he built on his experience against Haji bin Omar, to barge past him and create a two-on-two. Lee guessed correctly that Wong would play it short, and made the most of the chance.
Recognizing that a physical approach was making their opponents uncomfortable, Grilled piled on with the close-quarter confrontations. Former national player
Woon Shun An duly doubled Grilled's lead in the 15th minute, catching Nicholas Cavalchi off-guard by not slowing down on a straight-ahead charge. The Italian sweeper appeared to consider being mowed down and appealing for a foul, then thought better of it, but by then it was too late to prevent Woon from scoring off a textbook low drive.
Michelangelo Del Riccio was growing into his role at the other end, but it would be the home side who would further extend their lead in this half. Again, it was Wong who established a beachhead on the right, and this allowed
Chow Ying Lee to turn on the pace faucet. The 34 year-old may have to ration his runs nowadays, but as his blazing through on the stroke of 30 minutes showed, they are no less effective when they do happen.
Even the home fans had to acknowledge that Random Curiosity FC were matching Grilled in general, however, and it was mostly down to good fortune that the Birds maintained their two-goal advantage to the break. Danilo De Sario managed to put himself in fine positions pretty often, but
Ling Fuquan dispelled the danger somehow each of those times.
They certainly started the second period with a bang, as Del Riccio rocked the house with an unbelievable mid-air lob despite being heavily marked. Haji bin Omar raced onto the miracle pass, and although his initial strike was blocked by
Wong Tian Han, Dean Nightingale was waiting to snap it up.
Random Curiosity FC appeared unstoppable for the moment, as they pushed for a leveller with renewed vigour. Their star forward duo were approaching their scintillating best, and De Sario played
Woon Shun An for a fool in the 53rd minute with some cheeky footwork. About a dozen passes later, Del Riccio evaded
Gene Filippone to send a magnificent curler towards the far corner, only for
Wong Tian Han to tip it aside with a monster leap.
Grilled finally shook themselves awake at that, with
Wong Ping Shun putting in a well-timed challenge on De Sario that was well worth the yellow card. The attack was rebuffed, and
Tian Yonghang collected the ball via
Ang Leong Kum as they transited smoothly into a counter, but was forced wide by Cavalchi and could only find the outside of the goalpost.
No matter,
Lee Lee Hao would soon set the record straight. Wong was, of course, heavily involved yet again, as he delivered the kind of gently-dipping free-kick that
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim has professed to prefer. The Grilled star man obligingly helped it on despite Alexandru Bandi breathing down his neck, and Lee dove in to beat Jan Skjæveland with a snap header.
They were not in the clear yet, however, as French wingback Fathi Habita reminded with panache in the 78th minute, after penetrating through the Birds' central defence. Thankfully,
Wong Tian Han was again watching, and saved it before giving his backline a piece of his mind. Head coach
Djan Bacelar thought that this was a good time to give the winded
Chow Ying Lee a rest, and introduced
Rinor Isufi in his stead.
The Algerian made a bright entrance, but Random Curiosity would enter the home stretch as the stronger side; Dean Nightingale for one had definitely not given up, and it was all
Ang Leong Kum could to to put his body in the way to force a foul and caution for his opposite number. Despite that, the visitors reclaimed the ball, and Alexandru Bandi would up successfully chipping
Wong Tian Han with seven minutes left, setting up a very nervy conclusion for the home fans.
Grilled managed to hang on, though, and their supporters had few complaints when
Gene Filippone strolled the long way round to be replaced by
Rashid bin Ahmad towards the end.
