Resolve Made
Grilled captain
Tian Yonghang has seldom been as resigned as he appeared after this loss, the club's fourth straight competitive defeat in a row. "It's not looking great." he managed. "There isn't much I can say to our loyal fans, but I do hope they stick with us through these tough times."
This hasn't been the case in reality, with cancellation of supporter club memberships rising steadily. Club secretary Mohd Hamzah Minhat did assure that the club's major sponsors were holding firm for now, at least.
"Our current commercial relationships go back a long way, and the firms have indicated that they see this as a temporary dip. Of course, our performances will remain a factor, when these agreements next come up for renegotiation."
None of the signs look good for Grilled's survival, even if Claseek did keep Chemistry at twelve points, with a solid 2-0 home win that saw them race clear at the top. CoCoTeaTree Islanders dropped off, being upset 1-4 by an inspired Ma Jing, while The EV thrashed AkA FC 7-1 to keep the Birds off the bottom. Tomasz Pawłowski's four-goal haul saw him double his tally, and go top of the scoring charts.
It was all sweetness and light over at Carrot Field, where the Farmer Bunnies dispatched MFANC flamboyantly, reaching double digits for the first time in their history. Remarkably, no hat-tricks were recorded in the 10-0 massacre, with
Enzo Paolo Panzarino,
Sofian Azfar and
Wong Ting Yew having to be content with braces.
This result pushed the Buns into second place, and although promotion remains out of reach with KingofNoobs United extending their league streak to nine wins - staying eight points ahead - head coach
Sikong Darong felt that the next step up wouldn't be long in coming.
"This is a coming of age of sorts, and with a prudent buy or two, this squad should be able to pose real questions to many Division Two sides. Next season, or the one after next, and we should be headed up."
