Criticism Deflected
Ang Crocked
The Birds began their quest for the Ruby Challenger Cup with a 5-1 blowout of Woodlands Division Four adversaries FC Deflector, but would pay something of a hefty price, with
Ang Leong Kum and
Low Aik Jia winding up in the treatment room. Grilled were never really in danger as FC Deflector had to fight from behind for nearly the full duration, as they fended off questions about their offensive potential with positive play.
FC Deflector came into the fixture with a very impressive record, having won their last seven in all competitions, scoring 41 whilst conceding just the once, to Second Chance FC's Zahran Adnan. Of course, this meant little against Grilled, as
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim reminded so brazenly with his third minute chip over Bulgarian goalie Nikolay Barev.
The nominal hosts appearly slightly flustered at that, but they did manage to work lone striker Floriano Marchelli into a couple of advanced positions. Unfortunately for them, Marchelli was not quite up to breaking through on his own, but he did get into a tangle with
Ang Leong Kum, in pursuing a loose pass. The innocuous collision became serious with Ang's trailing boot stuck in the turf, however, and it was instantly clear that his day was over.
Rashid bin Ahmad filled in for Ang as
Neeraj Muthyala restarted with a throw-in, and
Yuki Irie doubled Grilled's lead with an opportunistic grounder, drifting in from the right.
Moey Xin Seng would look to add to his tally with a thoughtful curler, but it was caught and kicked far by Barev; Mexican winger Ángel Sáez got the bounce over
Wong Ping Shun, and dragged it across the six-yard box for veteran Ramesh Krupakaran to lift FC Deflector's hopes.
There was little sign of a true shift in momentum, however, and Grilled continued to maintain a comfortable level of possession.
Wong Ping Shun did his thing down the right, and it was his turn for luck in the 31st minute, when Augusto Falero prevented a corner, only to leave Wong with an open route into the box.
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim called for it, but Wong instead went for
Lee Lee Hao making a late run behind him, and Lee indeed put it away uncontested.
Grilled would open the second half brightly too, with
Gene Filippone striking from some twenty-five yards, to add to his goal against saiNts on Sunday. FC Deflector could have thrown themselves a lifeline, after Polish wide midfielder Henryk Kokociński befuddled
Yuki Irie with an impossible-looking turn into a volley after 52 minutes, but Marchelli didn't get a good connection on the finishing header.
The Birds weren't perfect themselves when it came to converting chances, and
Tian Yonghang was uncharacteristically slow with his right foot in the 56th minute, not even making it hard for Barev. Mohd Safri would knock a fine header off after
Moey Xin Seng's booking in the 70th minute led to a long clearance for him, but Barev was once again alert.
The hoodoo would finally end when
Wong Ping Shun tunnelled one through a mass of defenders in the 73rd minute despite being laid into by Wojciech Świtoń, which meant that the Polish defender would be suspended for the next match. It marked a very fine outing for the Grilled winger, who was justly applauded by his fans, when he made his way off in the 80th minute.
Low Aik Jia was his usual eager self when he entered together with
Rinor Isufi, but he would last barely a minute on the pitch, due to an almost comical blow to the hip. Picking himself up in a crowded location, Low mindlessly tripped teammate
Hariharan Prabhu, who fell squarely on him. Low had to be ferried over to the sideline, and while he was never officially ruled out, he didn't make it back before the final whistle went.
