Birds Sting Bees
Isufi Workout
Irish fourth division visitors WorkerBees FC, who had suffered the same fate as the Birds in being knocked out of their Challenger Cup, fared no better in Singapore as they were wiped 5-0. The concession to Grilled was a markedly wider backmost two than usual, but their gambit on pressing the attack found no purchase against a Birds midfield only too eager to market themselves.
Colby Awyong would get a rare start up top, partnering
Leong Wan Kang, with
Domenik Bögengang staying on the bench throughout. WorkerBees reshuffled a few positions, but retained about all of their second-stringers. Ghanaian midfielder Kwadwo Alhassan was a notable exception, but developing Dutchman Jacob-Jan Bergers would turn out to be their revelation of the day.
It was not that this affected the outcome overly, though Bergers' legs certainly helped the visitors to stay level for the first half-hour. Their philosophy of taking it to Grilled never quite got off the ground, with
Clark Won commanding the flow for the hosts, but fine reading of the game by Chilean fullback Wenceslao Castro had them avoid the worst of it.
This state of affairs could not be maintained indefinitely, though, and the Bees' resistance finally crumbled in the 32nd minute, with
Zhao Jing Wei doling out some of the controlled aggression that had once been one of his hallmarks. A measured elbow to the ribs of skipper Adam Harte cleared him out of the way without inviting official sanction, and hometown favourite goalie Corey Mac Domhnaill couldn't get down in time to block Zhao's stiff grounder.
WorkerBees attempted to muster a response, only for the Birds to step further up.
Gene Filippone executed a slick exchange with
Hariharan Prabhu to befuddle the WorkerBee defenders after 39 minutes, and there was no one left to counter
Rinor Isufi's incisive breakout from deep. Bergers chased the lost cause dutifully, but Isufi had gained too much of a headstart to be caught. 2-0.
The visitors would end up four down by the time the break rolled about, with Grilled's forwards happily taking full advantage of some comical defending by WorkerBees. Harte for one was livid at some of his teammates looking as if they had given up, but head coach Leyton Dolan appeared relatively unconcerned, chatting amicably with Luis Alcántara on the touchline.
There was no upturn in fortunes after half-time, as the match rebooted with
Hariharan Prabhu taking out Corey Mac Domhnaill in an uncontrolled mid-air collision. The goalkeeper ate the brunt of the impact, and while Prabhu had to take a time-out - and then a yellow card - for his part in this, Mac Domhnaill had to be stretchered off with a nasty facial gash.
First-choice Italian keeper Enrico Vozzi stepped in, and this instantly had a calming effect on the WorkerBees' defence. Displaying the organizational abilities borne of long experience, Vozzi markedly slowed the pace down whenever he could, and played a major part in denying
Leong Wan Kang a second goal with his decisive rush out just as Filippone slung a cross from the left.
That didn't stop Isufi from doing the deed in the 79th, with a snappy first-time snipe from the edge of the box, but Vozzi did prevent an Isufi hat-trick with his amazing fingertip save two minutes later. This was more than enough for Alcántara, who signalled for trainees
Kohei Okuya and
Shankar Athlye to make an appearance, which would be the latter's senior debut.
