Taking The Black
Meyer Thwarted
The final hurdle turned out to be one too far, as FC Barca Singapore lasted slightly better than the Birds at Camp Nou, with Jeremías Ávila's 77th minute winner earning them their first Division Two title. For Grilled, French midfielder
Clément Meyer had cut a titanic figure as he redefined his role at the heart of Grilled's unconventional frontline, but his contributions would ultimately fall just short of what was required.
The calculus was simple: the hosts needed to win, the Birds to avoid defeat. On the face of it, Grilled had the upper hand, having beaten FC Barca both times they have met this season, including the Ruby Challenger Cup final. FC Barca however prevailed 4-2 in the only previous meeting at Camp Nou, however, and if ever there was a stadium that could turn the advantage towards them, this was it.
After an entrance pyrotechnic display fit for the occasion, the usual fare was served up - FC Barca head coach Suradhish Acharya had confirmed that they would be going for victory from the start, and his charges backed his words up with room to spare. The Birds' own thrust was repelled almost in passing by the hosts' relentless onslaught, and there were only five minutes on the clock when Vikas Alluri powered the first goal in, from Lin Hui Ah's looping cross.
Fears about a whitewash only grew in the next few minutes as Grilled barely lived through several beefy efforts from Jørgen Ove, which had
Wong Tian Han reprising his cup final miracles all over again. And then, seemingly out of nothing, the equalizer.
Clément Meyer's inclusion in place of Gennady Dvork and
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim had plenty questioning
Djan Bacelar's judgment, but one fell swing from his right foot showed just how effective he could be as a striker too.
To be honest, Edmund Crean could have done better with that one, but there was no helping it for the home team. Their initial fervour unavoidably fell off slightly as
Yuki Irie imposed himself as a midfield anchor, but Hakim Niamuddin kept them on the boil with one of the best performances of his career, bringing his teammates into the game as and when appropriate.
One of these beneficiaries was Hong Kim Feng, who felt comfortable enough to expand from his usual role of providing defensive cover. After Mok Tze Seng had nipped in behind
Hariharan Prabhu on the left, Hong instinctively doubled up on that flank, and
Ling Fuquan couldn't handle both when Niamuddin picked his pass. It went to Hong, who crashed it in at the near post with Ove threatening the middle.
The home fans raised their volume again, but the Birds were not done yet. As FC Barca continued in search of a third, they didn't count on Prabhu being able to drop an accurate fifty-yard bomb into the opposing penalty area, from his own half. Wisely recognizing the danger early, former Panamanian international Jeremías Ávila tracked
Clément Meyer step for step, but he didn't have the lift needed to deny Meyer his finishing header.
This was, to say the least, irritating for the home support, who had seen their hopes dashed for the second time. Acharya, looking a tad troubled, relayed a few instructions to his midfield, and FC Barca began settling into a more cautious approach, possibly triggered by
Rinor Isufi suddenly beginning to find space opening up.
Commentators didn't take long to pick up on how the general flow was starting to resemble the cup finals, which could be interpreted as not being too rosy for FC Barca. And indeed, although the home team retained a slender advantage in terms of possession, Grilled had the more exciting breakouts; Isufi and
Low Aik Jia gave rein to their frightening pace at regular intervals, and at these times, it was all FC Barca could do to keep them out.
Half-time came and went with little fanfare, as the match remained on tenterhooks. Intense personal battles were developing all over the pitch - Low's speed against Benedetto Diletti's cunning, Kwan Kuanzhi all but glued to by a dogged
Hoàng Trung Quá,
Yuki Irie and Hakim Niamuddin constantly going toe-to-toe in the middle.
However, the key duel was clearly Ávila against Meyer, at this point in the game. None were quite as pivotal, with Ávila only too often the only one standing between Meyer, and a clear shot on the less-than-convincing Crean. It was an education in itself to observe how the Panamanian defender improvised to limit the damage imposed by the inspired Frenchman, who was a one-man battering ram.
The first tactical change was made by the hosts, with Acharya replacing veteran leftback Osvaldo Argappio with Georg Weidl, as the Italian slowed. The sudden shakeup would nearly prove fatal, as the ever-vigilant
Tian Yonghang capitalized on Weidl's bedding in, to get a stab in. Crean was caught overcommitting to his near post, and it was to his great relief that the effort sailed inches wide.
Unfortunately, Grilled's coaching staff didn't take the hint, and all but duplicated Acharya's mistake in the 75th minute. Despite Hoàng having kept Kwan in his pocket flawlessly throughout, the decision was taken to introduce
Zhao Jing Wei in his stead, perhaps with a view towards pushing for the outright winner.
It was a gamble that backfired spectacularly. Zhao indeed tried to push upfield as instructed, but his legs proved far less nimble than they were at his peak, and he was harried off the ball by a rushing Alluri. This sparked a pell-mell towards Wong's goal, and after some desperate tackling across the breadth of the field, Jeremías Ávila got the measure of Meyer with a surgical incursion, to give FC Barca Singapore their first true shot at the big leagues.
