Tremor Contained
Dunkel Does Double
Grilled Birds' historic first derby with Batok Earthquakes concluded in a three-all draw at Ground Zero, which the home team sustained despite playing the second half with only ten men. As for the Birds, the heavy rain leading up to and during the match didn't help their style any, which gave the impression that it was a point earned more than two lost, when all was done.
Earthquakes were, unsurprisingly, arrayed in the distinctive five-at-the-back setup that had set them in such good stead through the divisions, and only made more effective after collecting a deadly front line, the crown jewel of which was former Mozambique international Nélson Pedro. Still, their icons remain national defenders Ibrahim Mohd Azmil and Tan Kong Lai, who have each earned over thirty caps at all levels after arriving as teenagers.
Though knowing that any unsuccessful attacks could be sharply sent back, the Birds were overall not displeased to be certain of what they were facing.
Djan Bacelar's answer was an extremely high line, with
Gene Filippone and
Ling Fuquan pushing up to halfway whenever they could, and akodo star performers
Rinor Isufi and
Low Aik Jia given the freedom to express themselves.
It happened to be a brave move, but perhaps not the most suited to the environment, with the extremely soggy pitch reducing the battle to one of dreary attrition. Even Low recognized that dribbling was largely pointless after sinking into the mush, with
Wong Ping Shun perhaps the only Bird managing that with sheer power.
Rinor Isufi had the worst of it, as he spent the first thirty minutes never far from two markers, and when he had a half-open chance, swung too strongly and wound up on his back in the mud.
To add insult to admittedly light injury, Batok Earthquakes struck first thanks to that spill; Chua Li Sze scooped the free ball back the other way, as Argentine midfielder Humberto Laportilla called for it, and Grilled's defenders struggled to maintain their offside trap once Laportilla got through on the left.
Ling Fuquan managed to stick closely enough to Nunzio Viscusi that he was unable to hold onto the cross, but Dietmar Dunkel was prepared for just that, and hefted it through
Wong Tian Han's guard.
That was good enough for the Earthquakes' Polish coach Mariusz Szałański, who had evidently instructed his side to concentrate on protecting any lead they might get. Bacelar wouldn't be the only one to get his tactics wrong, as Grilled finally got the peace of mind they had sought, once the hosts' forwards withdrew. The bombing then commenced uninterrupted, and it took barely five minutes for
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim to set the score straight, from
Wong Ping Shun's big cross.
Better was to come, as Grilled kept up the assault against an Earthquakes team that continued to sit back.
Rinor Isufi finally made his first positive contribution of the day by knocking it out against Tan, and although
Low Aik Jia's quickly-taken corner was too close to Italian custodian Fausto Chiara, the slipperiness of the ball turned a simple take into a mistake. There would be protests from the hosts that
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim's charge had forced Chiara to let go with his charge, allowing
Lee Lee Hao to tap in, but they were overruled.
The arguments on the field were getting more and more heated even after the goal was given, and Earthquakes skipper Ibrahim Mohd Azmil let his passions take over, and shoved Mohd Safri to the ground right before the referee. Had the quick-thinking
Tian Yonghang not immediately leapt upon his longtime strike partner, it would not have been just Ibrahim who was sent off.
Unexpectedly, Earthquakes would get their own back before the interval, after
Tian Yonghang was dispossessed by Laportilla, who had been hastily drafted back to fill the hole left by Ibrahim. The goal same in the same manner as had their first, hit over the top to acting captain Nélson Pedro, who demonstrated great awareness by instantly laying it across to the unhindered Dietmar Dunkel.
Ling Fuquan would be booked for his late challenge on Pedro, which sparked continued protests at the match officials for perceived leniency.
As had the first, the second half took its time to get going, with the slate wiped clean as it were. Earthquakes had repositioned themselves into a 4-2-3, which did give Grilled's forwards the inches of extra space that they so yearned for. Their gameplan was perhaps getting a little too predictable, however, and one had to suspect that
Ang Leong Kum could have done better shooting himself in the 61st minute, rather than delaying for the obvious centered ball that
Ling Fuquan sent straight at Chiara.
This resulted in a sudden flurry of activity, once Chiara distributed it quickly to Henri Larsen on the right. Abandoning their defensive stance for once, Earthquakes nearly made their committed raid count, but
Wong Tian Han just about blocked Tan Kong Lai's improvised finish at point blank.
Ling Fuquan tried to give Earthquakes a taste of their own medicine with a long ball of his own, but
Low Aik Jia just failed to keep it in.
Grilled then gradually camped out in Earthquakes' final third again, no doubt helped by their opponents being a man down, but did not find the task at hand particularly easier.
Rinor Isufi had probably their best chance of the period, after he finally lost Chua Li Sze with a feinted turn, but Chiara was up to his rising effort with a dramatic flying one-handed punch.
Just when it looked like a draw would be the final result, Earthquakes sent Ground Zero into a tizzy by retaking the lead in the 80th. With the Birds' crossing game losing some of its shine, the hosts had been dealing with the incoming balls fairly comfortably, and Tan Kong Lai had the luxury of picking his target after chesting a particularly uninspired effort down. This was Nélson Pedro, who had been saving up for just this moment, and he made his bid at deciding the game with a lung-bursting rush down the left, finishing nealy around
Wong Tian Han.
Almost lost in the following celebrations was
Djan Bacelar's fevered whispering to his captain as the Earthquake players piled on Pedro, and whether it played any part in what happened after that, only the two can say. The record will however show that
Low Aik Jia managed to pierce through a packed Earthquakes defence against all odds, and make it 3-3 with a no less miraculous curler to the top corner.
The spectators were kept on the edges of their seats, if they even bothered to do so, after that, but there was no magic remaining in this one, and the coaches' wearied handshake after the final whistle communicated beyond words that they accepted a tie as a fair result.
