Return To The Mean
Gennady Grab
The historic mauling that Grilled had just suffered at the hands of the Saints appeared to have affected them massively, seeing as how they floundered against visiting The EV for the first hour at The Cooking Pot. The introduction of
Gennady Dvorak would turn things around for good, though, as the former Argentine youth international would guarantee full points within four minutes of his arrival.
Pre-game commentary had centered upon how difficult they found this one to call, not least due to the Birds' collapse last Sunday, but also the indifferent form of The EV; despite starting the season very brightly, they had lost their latest two league fixtures to Arcturules and FC Barca Singapore by three-goal margins, and are now ensconced firmly in mid-table.
Polish main man Tomasz Pawłowski, who struck for them in the home matchup, continued to be raised as The EV's best hope, going by his consistency thus far. Osman Abdul Majid Nazri's passing a late fitness test boosted his team further, while on the Grilled side,
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim was reported to be medically cleared, but kept out of the squad altogether due to severe stamina concerns.
Yuki Irie, who impressed against The EV last time, remained on the injured list, though with his ligament strain healing as anticipated.
All in all, it was a cautious The EV side that lined up against Grilled, which likely did them few favours. Gencho Mintzev's reluctance to get forward played into
Low Aik Jia's preferences, and the slippery winger could have gone all the way in the fifth minute, with the opposition defence rather too static in their man-marking. Norwegian goalie Sean Huseklepp made up for it with a full-stretch dive, but this was only the beginning of his troubles.
The EV were holding their own for a time, and it took one of
Ang Leong Kum's mad inventions to break them down. Mihovil Turk had just won out against
Lee Lee Hao, but he hadn't counted on Ang charging him down at full tilt; the resulting rebound looped right to
Tian Yonghang, with The EV's entire defence unprepared for this change in circumstances - not even Huseklepp, who had wandered to the edge of his area to position himself.
The visitors surrounded referee Aleksandar Bebekovski even before Tian happily put it into the empty net, claiming offside, but it was a hard sell given that the direction of Ang's deflection was clearly not deliberate. Turk was still arguing his case when
Clark Won put Grilled further up with a push down the centre, at which his head coach Jochen Martens finally stepped up to order his men to get their minds back on the game.
This would work, with Kevin Bomhöffer making a blazing run down the left in the 36th, that was skillfully turned past
Wong Tian Han by ex-Honduras international Mario Velasco. Velasco didn't quite manage to avoid
Ling Fuquan's hopelessly-late tackle, but The EV would come out the better for it; Ling got booked, while Velasco shrugged off the effects.
Grilled would then suffer through some pointlessly selfish decision-making by Low, who elected to gamble on a strike from a poor angle despite having
Rinor Isufi and
Wong Ping Shun all but screaming for it in far superior positions, and ended up burying it in row Z. Worse, The EV would counter immediately, and Mintzev loped down the length of the now-vacant right wing, before crossing for Big Pole Pawłowski to head strongly for the equaliser.
It looked as if the Birds were self-destructing, with
Wong Ping Shun locked in heated discussion with
Low Aik Jia even as Pawłowski scored, and Wong would be fortunate to stay on when he lashed out at Bomhöffer with his boot. Luckily, half-time was fast approaching, and a quick word from
Zhao Jing Wei from the sidelines seemed to cool Wong down.
The second half would begin promisingly for the Birds, who engaged in what was probably their longest uninterrupted spell of possession, before
Gene Filippone whipped it through for
Tian Yonghang to finish. The EV were not discouraged, however, and they kept abreast thanks to Mintzev, who promptly defeated
Wong Tian Han with an excellently-weighted chip on the go.
Despite
Low Aik Jia finally getting the goal he craved, shooting a reverse into the top left corner while skirting the six-yard box, The EV were showing signs that they could well take this one. Pawłowski was threatening Wong very frequently at the other end, and only a sacrificial professional foul by
Tian Yonghang on Osman Abdul Majid Nazri kept him from tying it up a third time.
The substitution of
Gennady Dvorak for a quiet
Rinor Isufi right after another Pawłowski near-miss appeared calculated to steam the visitors' momentum more than anything, but Dvorak would take no time at all to prove that he was not merely a tactical pawn.
Indeed, his very first touch would be a goal, as he inserted himself into just the right place, such that not even
Low Aik Jia could deny that he was in a better spot. Subtly drawing Yves Boeger aside with a nearly-imperceptible twitch, Dvorak bought himself the yard of space that he required, and firmly stabbed the ball past the stranded Huseklepp.
As if this was not enough, Dvorak then repeated the trick, barely four minutes later. The EV had barely caught their breath, when
Tian Yonghang played to Dvorak's feet, just outside the area. A swift turn, an assured strike, and the net bulged with Grilled's sixth of the day.
This had the crowd, who had already witnessed Dvorak stamp his class with two in his debut against Batok Earthquakes, go wild. The Argentine was not beneath playing to his audience, and punctuated his moment with a dash of badge-kissing.
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim, who had been watching from the VIP box, could not help but applaud.
The EV had gone from strong contestants to ultra long shots in a matter of minutes, and Martens' only reply was to get Ramprasad Mittal in it with fifteen minutes left, and try the long ball tack. Unfortunately for them, Grilled would concentrate on hogging possession with low-risk passes, and Dvorak nearly claimed a hat-trick with a late pot that Huseklepp saved.
