Unimpeded
On To Quarters
Grilled did not encounter many problems against Division Four leaders Unium F.C, whose nine-match winning streak came to an end at Hell chair staters. On a high after their dethroning of former Cup champions singnet_utd last week, Unium would discover a far more circumspect Birds selection too much to deal with, and shipped seven goals without reply.
Italian midfielder Mario Fundoni returned after recovering from a twisted ankle picked up during that match, but Argentine striker Maximilian Strableg was sacrificed for Finn Arsi Mällinen to provide an additional body at the back. This left Cristian Pirarba to lead the line on his own.
The Birds went for aerial prowess in attack, with
Clément Meyer a surprise choice alongside
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim, with
Tian Yonghang supporting. And, Grilled's opener did indeed come from a header - but it would be off
Neeraj Muthyala, who kept up his goal-a-game average for the season with his angled pop from a corner.
Unium F.C's vision of a repeat upset vanished rapidly as Grilled took command of the midfield, and
Tian Yonghang swiftly put it up to two-nil, after the returning
Low Aik Jia stretched his legs against the not-exactly-nimble Drąsutis Steberiakas. Steberiakas would soon be further hobbled by a receiving a yellow card for his manhandling of Low, whom he never quite managed to keep tabs on.
Grilled's rhythm continued unbroken, and Mohd Safri gobbled up his usual diet of
Wong Ping Shun crosses, nodding one unopposed past Gerlando Turra in the 19th minute.
Wong Ping Shun would then get one for himself, when the seemingly not fully-prepared Mällinen had his telegraphed pass intercepted. Croatian coach Milivoj Dretar threw his hands up at that, with there frankly being no realistic way back for Unium, after just 23 minutes.
The Birds didn't let up with their opponents' reservedness making
Moey Xin Seng look much better than usual, and
Gene Filippone and Mohd Safri got it to 6-0 within 33 minutes. At this stage, the only question seemed to be whether Grilled could get it to double-digits, with Unium putting up only token resistance.
Some fine patrolling of his area by Unium goalie Gerlando Turra got them to half-time without conceding further, though, and they returned with self-belief reinstated. While the game had long since been out of their hands, the Unium players apparently rediscovered some meaning to it. Portuguese skipper Carlos Jorge Domingues Almeida exemplified this new drive, taking on and beating
Low Aik Jia from the restart, to the latter's astonishment.
Unium's newfound industry nearly got them a stunning consolation in the 52nd minute, after they restarted quickly from
Yuki Irie's miss; Almeida again was fastest to react down the right, and timely backup from Kazek Chrostowski allowed them to go clear on the left. However, Chrostowski opted to hit it long to Rafał Stryjek, instead of lifting it for Pirarba, and this allowed
Wong Tian Han just enough time to reach the cross and punch it out.
They continued building up a head of steam, and had another go at reducing in the 63rd minute, when Emilio Fenzi cooked up a cleverly-disguised pass to Mario Fundoni. Sadly, Fundoni wasn't quite expecting that either, and could only manage to direct it straight into the waiting arms of
Wong Tian Han, to his great relief.
Still, Unium were looking more like the leading team by the moment, and Fenzi's tricky footwork lured
Wong Ping Shun into a booking. Their fire would be doused somewhat as Grilled scored against the run of play, though. 72 minutes in,
Tian Yonghang played for a free-kick and got it, and
Clément Meyer got enough on the floated delivery to allow
Low Aik Jia an open shot at goal.
Wong Ping Shun could have made it eight, but Turra came up with yet another majestic save, and Grilled's late subs of
Rinor Isufi and
Rashid bin Ahmad only served to lock the game down.
