Sharing The Shine
One For One
The second round of the Asian Champions League saw Grilled split the points with Abu Dhabi club The Rising Stars, with the pick of the action over by the sixth minute. Anchored by Bahraini expat keeper Ye Jiqiang, the visitors would hold the Birds comfortably at arm's length for the bulk of the game, and were seemingly satisfied with the outcome.
While Grilled stuck to giving their midfield trainees game time, they weren't shy about parading their first-team attack, which was however hobbled by
Tian Yonghang failing a late fitness check.
Leong Wan Kang would therefore again start on the left of the front line, with
Gennady Dvorak squaring off against Stars' German skipper Stipo Siročić.
Attendance at The Cooking Pot was slightly disappointing, perhaps due to the inclement weather, but they at least didn't have long to wait for things to happen. Grilled were still revving up when Matthew Lynch picked off a pass meant for
Low Aik Jia in the fifth minute, and he then wound his way inside before triggering Stéphane Rougeaux's run and strike.
The Birds immediately found their way back, after Leong's persistent pressure earned a corner straight from kick-off.
Rinor Isufi lined it up, and dropped it close enough to Ye that the goalie felt obliged to contest it.
Gennady Dvorak was better placed, though, and the former Argentine youth international got enough elevation to reach it before him.
This early exchange of goals only served to make the participants more wary of each other, and the increasingly heavy rain didn't offer much encouragement.
Chu Xin Lee's antics were the highlight of a largely-dead half, but they were short of end product.
There would be a much-needed flurry of activity to end the first forty-five minutes, It began with Leong being called up for resorting to shirt-pulling to get past Wojciech Marczewski, and
Kalki Parvathaneni nearly gave away the softest of goals when he massively underhit a back header. Luckily for him,
Valentin Batâr was watching. Isufi then broke through in the 42nd minute, but his finish from a tight angle was shut down by Ye.
The match restarted with a good shout for a penalty for Grilled, after
Leong Wan Kang was felled midway through rounding Ye Jiqiang. Referee Stefano Milana instantly waved play on, however, and Leong made as if to protest, before remembering that he was already on a yellow, and wisely checking himself.
And it was probably the right decision, given that Milana didn't hesitate in reaching for the book, when the Stars' young Mazen Momen went sprawling under a minor bump from
Yuki Irie, a bit later. Taking the cue, defenders began upping the intensity of their tackling, with
Rinor Isufi too often on the receiving end; he retaliated with a vicious swipe at tormentor-in-chief Siročić eventually, and was rightly booked for it.
In any case, the game was headed towards a probably-fair draw, when Grilled almost stole it. Several minutes after
Remco van der Ban's inclusion, his wild rush down the right saw a rare opening develop for
Mohammad Ramli Saliman, who then saw his good fortune continue as Johnnie Bertotti slipped before getting close. Unfortunately, he fired right into Ye, and
Zhao Jing Wei's late introduction bore no fruit.
