Wholly Insulated
Moey Maturing
If Grilled had started out poorly in the league, they at least kept their supporters from having to sit through another nerve-wracking early Cup round, as had happened last season. Orchard-based Magnetic Man, who were formed some three months back, were unable to meaningfully threaten the Birds' fast-improving second-string midfield, and would succumb to a 1-5 mauling in time.
Magnetic certainly knew all about Argentine hotshots, having just made Norberto Antonio Villagrán their first million-dollar man, and
Gennady Dvorak had a fine time conversing in the wait for kick-off. It was all business after that, however, and the hosts soon found that they could have done with an extra man in midfield. Polish custodian Paweł Maliński's quick reactions allowed them to survive early scares from
Kalki Parvathaneni and
Mohammad Ramli Saliman, but the signs were definitely not good.
Saliman was the most exciting player on the pitch at this point in time, and despite the soggy ground, he wowed with a body fake past Dominik Koschlau, and skewed it towards the six-yard box in crowded conditions. There was quite a bit of slipping and sliding around as multiple men tried to get a grasp on it, but eventually
Remco van der Ban would get it in off his shins.
What the weather giveth, it would be taking away, and Magnetic discovered just how fickle the elements could be, after the rain had arguably mostly helped their cause in the early going. The second goal would also come about aided by external factors, as
Tian Yonghang took two defenders with him, as he sloshed unsuccessfully towards a thoughtful
Chu Xin Lee pass. This unintentional dummy was right up
Mohammad Ramli Saliman's alley, and he nipped in to cream it past Maliński.
The hosts were further deflated after
Moey Xin Seng showed shades of Mohd Safri in clattering home
Gennady Dvorak's corner kick. They would raise their game at this, and Devon Lee nearly latched onto
Kalki Parvathaneni's questionable backpass, on the next possession. He might have missed that one, but made no further mistake a few minutes later, racing onto Kwa Yeow Soon's hard-won through pass to score.
This came at a heavy price, however, as it soon became apparent that Kwa had torn something in his determination to make it to the ball before
Clark Won. The 23 year-old writhed about in unmistakable agony, which had players from both sides signalling frantically to the sidelines. Kwa would be stretched off after a long examination and to loud appreciative applause, and Choi Kong Xin replaced him in the lineup.
Grilled got their drive back after the break, and they began really turning the screws, with their growing confidence in possession. Unlike the last season, the Birds trainees appeared to have understood the value of hanging back and not forcing matters overly, and it was
Moey Xin Seng's sensible waiting and seeing on
Rinor Isufi's premature run, that allowed him to pick out
Kalki Parvathaneni for an easy finish.
If there remained one glaring fault in Moey's all-around game, it was trying to do too much by himself, as happened in the 61st minute when he took Keegan Aoki down, despite Remco apparently having it all covered. This resulted in an unnecessary booking, but from the look on assistant coach Luis Alcántara's face, he wasn't too displeased.
It was about then that
Tian Yonghang finally attained his usual level, after an hour of slightly embarrassing slipshod control, and he weaved a spell in the 65th minute to catch the entire defence out... all but Tay Kum Tian, who got behind his goalie to hack the shot off the line. No matter, there would be no stopping Tian a couple of minutes later, when he volleyed it in first-time from Saliman's outswinging cross.
Tian would take his customary breather with ten minutes remaning, but the match had been winding down for some time by then.
Rinor Isufi, who inherited the armband, attempted to get his time on the scoresheet, but found less enthusiasm than he had hoped for, coming from his own ranks.
