Marvels Manage
Kris Without Mercy
Scottish Third Division side Marty's Marvels pulled no punches in Qaseem Madaini's testimonial in Strathclyde, as their regular forwards ran the former Saudi international ragged in a comprehensive 6-2 win. Danish racer Kris Mathiesen was especially unsparing of his efforts, bagging two in a first half that had Madaini panting.
Grilled had reportedly been attempting to arrange a local sendoff, but circumstances took them to the raucous Sanda stadia, where a fair-sized turnout had gathered. Nominally a centreback in his long and distinguished career, Madaini elected to end it at rightback, with
Gene Filippone and
Ling Fuquan acting as his minders, in a sense.
It wouldn't nearly be enough, with Mathiesen and Portuguese star turn Mário Pedro Narciso in the mood for goals. Grilled's second-string midfield was not of the calibre to protect against the Marvels' dominating wide game, which began shelling the Birds' penalty area from the word go.
Ten minutes in, Pietro Bano got a corner off
Colby Awyong, and Yury Topchin climbed aggressively between two opponents to nod it in with finality. The hulking Russian defensive midfielder sent
Neeraj Muthyala sprawling in the process, but referee Eugen Eggerschwiler let it pass after a brief consultation with his assistant.
The Birds were not completely toothless, particularly when they managed to manufacture individual duels, and
Rinor Isufi had the beating of veteran Charles Paquette on sheer fleetness of foot in the 19th minute. The equaliser proved a flash in the pan, though, and Mathiesen would pay it back with a similar goal, after leaving
Gene Filippone behind in a 27th minute breakaway.
Madaini, who had been just about hanging on by employing his massive trove of experience, would finally be done in by Bo Simonse's faultless give-and-go with Mathiesen several minutes later, and
Krystian Rykowski could again do nothing against a crisp finish. Mathiesen made it 4-1 shortly after, admirably staying on his feet as he rode an attempted sliding tackle from
Ling Fuquan, before chipping it over Rykowski's shoulder.
The few Grilled diehards who managed the trip would brighten up, though, as new favourite
Moey Xin Seng belied his age with an extremely mature strike. Most seventeen year-olds would probably have pulled the trigger once they got to Isufi's rushed cross, but Moey retained the presence of mind to drag it around Botond Sárándi, and then somehow summon the panache to lure Ezechiele Di Gennaro to commit himself. No especially difficult moves were executed, but the goal shone in its elegance.
The pleasant development did nothing to affect the main course of the match, however, and only some outstanding anticipation by Rykowski prevented the Marvels from extending their lead further before half-time.
Pompeo Bellamoli was brought in to replace the largely anonymous
Leong Wan Kang during the interval, while
Yuki Irie took over from
Lee Lee Hao.
Players from both teams were all smiles as they made they way back in, but any pretence of taking it easy were soon cast aside, as the Marvels returned to the warpath. Madaini's sluggishness was picked on relentless by Mathiesen, who made a second assist with his expansive pass across the penalty area. Narciso, who hung back waiting for it, was the happy beneficiary.
Charles Paquette then upped it to 6-2 with Madaini on the verge of being completely embarassed, which was the signal for
Djan Bacelar to take him off with ten minutes remaining.
Rashid bin Ahmad was an immediate upgrade, and the Birds managed to endure to the end without conceding further - albeit at the cost of a yellow card for Filippone. Narciso brought some panic with his powerfully whipped-in cross near the end, but Rashid was equal to it then.
