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| FIXTURE HISTORY |
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| Season 54 | L | 3 - 5 | Tournament (Playoffs) |
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Rovers Blackeyed
No Yáñez Yes
Grilled Birds prevailed over Blackburn Rovers Fan in their first league clash, and their only meeting other than the Singapore Community Shield that the then-S-League champions Rovers took 5-3. This was reversed today as Rovers' Chilean technician Aroldo Yáñez nearly built an Ewood Park legend by taking them back from three goals down, but Grilled dragged out the win following that immense personal feat.
The participants that had gathered in the city today were some seasons off their heyday, with many of Blackburn's stars of that era, such as wing terror Chow De Choon, having left. His Greek international replacement Stathis Rorris came with sterling reviews, but failed a late fitness test to make the matchday squad.
Fernando González Carvajal was left on the bench too as the hosts opted for an offensive strategy, if tempered by Hari Kumble and former Tak United trainee James Lim's tucking inside in midfield. As for Grilled, recent sales have seen their options reduced, but
Low Aik Jia still had to sit out, as
Lee Lee Hao won the nod on the left.
Ang Leong Kum and
Clark Won started in the centre alongside
Clément Meyer, and this hungry new-look engine room made a loud initial impact. Ang, emboldened by his rave reviews in the Cup, chanced a first-time volley from a disadvantaged position in the fourth minute, and saw it go straight to the lurking Lee - who sadly, was not expecting it.
Grilled maintained the initiative, however, to the vocal disapproval of the home support. Lee's unorthodox style threw James Lim off constantly, and he had only to get past Hungarian fullback István Rajki to own the wing. This happened in the 16th minute, and Mohd Safri just about weaseled it past Robert Schallgruber-Horstmann for the score.
Blackburn were striving to retake control, but for once the Grilled midfield was especially proactive in regaining possession.
Clark Won probably overdid it when he blocked former Russian national playmaker Vladimir Lyulin from taking a free-kick, though, and was booked for his pains.
Schallgruber-Horstmann made a fine diving stop off
Gene Filippone, but was undone by the superior striking instincts of Mohd Safri, who showed that he still had it with his curt swipe to the far post, from
Ang Leong Kum's hard-hit pass.
The next minute saw Grilled put themselves three ahead when
Clark Won had it fall off his head and into a sliver of open space, throwing Blackburn skipper Namik Rustempašić for just long enough for Won to attempt a chip. There was probably more luck involved when it deflected off Rustempašić for good measure. The home fans were not impressed.
If it looked plain sailing at half-time, however, the Birds were in for a rude shock. That said, when Aroldo Yáñez squeezed in a sweet cross by James Lim past
Wong Tian Han's watch, there were few indications that it would be any more than a consolation.
That turned out to have sparked a Rovers revival, though, and the flow of the game changed completely. Blackburn were no longer content to wait it out, and found Grilled rather shaky at the back. Yáñez could have gotten a second shortly after, but in perhaps his only mistake of the half, struck it straight at Wong. No matter, there was more soon to come.
Grilled recovered slightly after Mirko Eugeni's rather outlandish miss from right in front of the goal, but this was not enough to stop Yáñez from cutting the lead further in the 69th. Iranian leftback Mohsen Amanpour overlapped magnificently, and Yáñez responded by taking the ball past
Ling Fuquan with his first touch, before rolling it in.
The stadium then erupted when Yáñez completed his hat-trick a few minutes later, as he maneuvered past all comers before undoing
Wong Tian Han with a strike from the tightest of angles. Grilled might have been level still, but on the atmosphere, it was difficult to bet against Blackburn riding their momentum to victory.
Then, just as abruptly as it had begun, Blackburn's comeback stalled. Perhaps uncertain on how to proceed, they invited the Birds onto them, and this would be their downfall when
Tian Yonghang forced a corner.
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim rightly won the bulk of attention in the jostle for position, but
Clément Meyer proved to be as deadly in the air.
Blackburn Rovers Fan were dazed, and would only be more so when they went further behind on the restart. There appeared little immediate danger when
Ang Leong Kum stole the ball off Nie Tze Chao as the latter tried to find a pass, but they didn't count on Ang spotting
Rinor Isufi making himself available at top speed. Isufi slid in just ahead of Blackburn's goalie, and sealed the previously unlikely-looking win for the Birds.
