Stoopid Scooped
Four Firsts And A Tian
There were milestones aplenty as Grilled kicked off their new cup challenge with an eight-nil against Stoopid 6 United at Pasir Ris, with the just-promoted
Chu Xin Lee undeniably making himself the centre of attention with his original approach to the game.
Gennady Dvorak however was the big winner going by the numbers, as he claimed his first hat-trick with the Birds, before adding one more to boot.
Semi-pro club Stoopid 6 United were undeniably established in the region, having notched seven Division Five titles in their long history, but their innocent approach would soon be found wanting against Grilled's blend of old pros and young stars in the making. Mohd Fauzzi bin Ahmad Mokshinon, Stoopid skipper and by some distance their best player, tried to spread his influence on the offense, but he would only find himself increasingly isolated as the Birds went to work.
First to score was Grilled's most senior man on the pitch, as
Tian Yonghang made it eighteen seasons running in which he has scored for the club. The opposition probably showed him too much respect when he elbowed his way to an incoming pass, and Tian showed them the folly of that, with a rocket straight into the roof of Chau Xin Ying's net.
If that was Tian being the picture of consistency that he has come to be known for,
Chu Xin Lee's behaviour suggested that the Grilled fans may be in for a rather more heartstopping - and not always in a good way - replacement, in the near future. Chu, who had been noticeably nervy with his first few touches, compounded that by passing straight to a bemused Mohd Fauzzi in the ninth minute. Fortunately, Mohd Fauzzi was as stunned as anyone, and fellow debutant
Yuta Nakakita raced back to knock it behind to safety.
This was about as close as the hosts got, as Fang Kunwei was easily beaten to the corner by
Wong Tian Han. Chu got a few calming words from Tian, and Grilled trundled on in a more conventional fashion. After a long period of passing about in midfield, to settle the kids as much as anything,
Low Aik Jia went on a flashy solo run that earned an indirect free.
Gennady Dvorak tried to play it around the back sneakily, but Stoopid had seen this one before.
Dvorak would opt the go the first route the next time Grilled won a free-kick around the box, and his deadeye targeting was far beyond what the slightly portly Chau was prepared to handle. The Argentine was at it again against an overawed Stoopid backline four minutes later, nudging past army regular Low Kim to up the score to 3-0.
That put the result beyond doubt once and for all, and the more impressionable youngsters noticeably continued as if a load had been taken off their minds. Chu, who had been sadly subdued after his early colossal cock-up, would gradually rediscover his true self, and even the home faithful had to grudgingly acknowledge some of his more outrageous freestyle moves.
While he had been uniformly competent in his previous four starts, he had not stolen the show since his explosive debut against Batok Earthquakes in the middle of last season, and there was a sense that being dropped to the bench intermittently had wreaked havoc with Dvorak's mentality.
With the obvious decline of
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim, however, all signs are that Dvorak will be first in line to partner Tian and
Rinor Isufi from now on, and his maiden hat-trick with Grilled certainly wouldn't have hurt; Isufi, who won it after getting bowled over while readying for a shot, appeared to consider claiming the bounty for himself, but eventually relinquished it for the grateful Argentine, who gave him a heartfelt pat on the back.
Chu then hinted at what he was capable of - and what the Grilled fans could come to expect. Putting his stumbles well and behind him, Chu trapped the ball despite Fang Kumwei's attentions with a velvety takedown, and then slid a seemingly impossible pass for
Hariharan Prabhu with the outside of his boot. It should have been a sitter, but Prabhu missed the connection. No matter, Chu was onto the return himself, and the rest of the players stood as if mesmerised, as he stroked it in, all easy like.
It was clear that Grilled had someone strikingly unconventional on their books, which meant that some old-fashioned footballing was in order. For this, they would have
Yuta Nakakita standing ready, and the returnee from Arcturules duly confirmed that one of his strengths remained intact. Dvorak lobbed it in from the corner, and that was all the invitation Yuta needed, to fling himself through the air for the headed screamer.
Kalki Parvathaneni had to be feeling a little left out by now, having played the part of a good, solid citizen to little reward. He wouldn't be forgotten for too much longer, thankfully, as another of Grilled's many set pieces was pinballed to him, as he hung about the far post. It wasn't too hard a finish, but Parvathaneni definitely savoured it.
Gennady Dvorak then completed the scoring with a second free-kick stunner in the 72nd minute, that had Chau beginning to see the funny side of things. The goalie would claim Dvorak's shirt after the game, so one figures he didn't take it too badly.
There would be a standing ovation from the Grilled fans when
Ling Fuquan came in for the last five minutes, with the news that he has already accepted an offer from Italian Division Six club Sulpriziana having just been made public. Barring another late suitor, the 33 year-old former Wings star will depart the Birds for a second, and likely last, time.
