Ette Too, Brutally
Chu A Ways To Go
German sixth division hosts FC Ette 1848 smacked an exhausted Birds XI about, and came out of the friendly with a convincing 5-0 win. Little clicked for what was about Grilled's strongest-available side at present, as
Chu Xin Lee showed no signs that he could be entrusted with finding goals next season.
The 20 year-old Chu had been raring to make the step up for some time already, with frequent comments to the press about his ambitions, but despite forward slots opening up thanks to Tian's decline and Dvorak's departure, Chu had not managed to persuade that he was up to the task; slipped clear through by
Rinor Isufi in the third minute, he had the Albanian throwing his hands up by passing it straight into the goalkeeper's embrace.
That was when Grilled could still be said to be in the running, and once Ette's Liridash Shalsi got in his groove, it got way harder for the Birds. Despite being countrymen, Shalsi continually got under Isufi's skin with his up-close marking, and proved a more than able creator besides. Some 22 minutes in, he would send
Gene Filippone sprawling with an elaborate turn, and although he was eventually headed off, Patrick Guillo would give Ette the lead on the second attempt.
Filippone would have to run that off, as Luis Alcántara weighed sending
Yuki Irie on prematurely and dismissed the idea. Grilled somehow managed, and in the 33rd minute, came up with another good chance for Chu on the left side. Again, he was no match for Chaładaj, and a rapid long ball return directly down the pitch was worked into a tremendous headed goal via centreforward Shunsuke Suzuki.
Ette were blending a merciless pressing approach with sharp speedy attacking quite well, and opened the second half with a strike born of this mix.
Moey Xin Seng, trying vainly to fulfil his duties, had nowhere to go after dodging two challenges in midfield, and was stripped of possession by József Gazsó. Two meaningful passes downfield later, and Švitrigaila Kavalevskas would poke it past
Valentin Batâr.
It was getting seriously suffocating for the Grilled creators, and Ette were only beginning to turn it on. In the 63rd minute, Grilled appeared to have escaped after Moey hauled Suzuki down out of necessity, but the Peruvian had his own back from the free-kick. Rising half a head over
Neeraj Muthyala, he brought it down for Liridash Shalsi hovering about the six-yard box, who in turn smashed the fourth goal in at the left-hand post.
József Gazsó nearly piled it on in the next minute but shot high, though it wouldn't delay Ette much. A few more minutes on, sustained pressure by the hosts caused
Dante Tran to play a bad pass towards his backline, which was foreseen by Egyptian striker Amgad Ammar. He was considering angles when Gazsó presented himself on the left, and he had a easy finish with Batar lured in.
Grilled would make the substitution that Filippone had been waiting for after that, with the Swiss defender noticeably limping again, and also introduced
Tian Yonghang for
Rinor Isufi into the bargain. They got little out of it, however, and were indeed fortunate to leave without further conceding.
