Bogo Nailed
Speed Kings
League gamewinner
Chow Ying Lee and his presumed heir
Rinor Isufi gave Belgian Division Six opponents FC BOGOMIEL a nightmare in the last group stage match of the Worldwide Allgäu-Guests III tournament, as they combined for a total of five goals to send them packing. FC BOGOMIEL had run up two 9-0 scorelines in recent weeks, but would be on the receiving end this time as they failed to contest possession meaningfully throughout.
Granted, FC BOGOMIEL didn't do themselves any favours by peppering their lineup with second-stringers either, leaving Eugenio Valdinoci the Herculean task of finding goals on his own, but it would likely have made little difference. The Birds' concession was to rest their overworked captain
Tian Yonghang, which allowed Isufi and Chow to team up in a real game for the first time.
Clark Won, who had endured a troubled initiation with the Birds, was handed the honour of leading the side out.
Won proved adept at distributing the ball, which was made all the easier by the opposition sticking to a rigid 4-4-2. This left their flanks exposed whenever Grilled's hungry forwards prowled the middle, and the first two goals came through this route.
Chow Ying Lee's finely-honed instincts guided him to the right place at the right time, allowing him to lash crosses successfully past Canadian goalie David Graham in the 18th and 29th minutes.
FC BOGOMIEL then had a go after Maher Tayeb was bundled over by
Clément Meyer not too far outside Grilled's penalty area, but Astolfo Maimone's hanging ball came to nothing, and the Belgians had committed so many men forward that only Claus Dieter Selecky was left trying to stare down a three-on-one breakaway. Isufi demanded his attention, before laying it across to
Rashid bin Ahmad for a simple finish.
The Birds were flowing just fine, and although Chow passed up his shot at a hat-trick by delaying his strike, Spanish reserve centreback
Joan Cisquell would ensure that Grilled took one more goal into the break. On an uncharacteristic foray into the opposition half, Cisquell found himself drawn into a prolonged passing move, and wound up stabbing it in after Graham's save off
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim was not promptly cleared.
It would be the 38 year-old Cisquell's last involvement in the game, as he was replaced by
Gene Filippone for the second half - it might have looked crass to pile on a clearly-outclassed foe, but with every indication that top seeding would come down to goal difference, it was understandable that assistant coach Luis Alcántara didn't feel like taking chances.
Rinor Isufi clearly got the brief, and he started off with a bang. Having played a mostly-supportive role in the first half, the Albanian was now out for it himself, and he did not disappoint with his very clean contact in the 47th minute that gave Graham no option but to watch the ball fly past him.
The Birds were pounding it directly straight ahead now, which suited Isufi just fine. Swiss defender Vincent Pallard, who had made shadowing Isufi his priority, became severely strained by the lightning-quick foward's odd stop-and-start bursts and odd spins; there was certainly no tracking Isufi in the 55th minute when he latched onto
Woon Shun An's long pass, which he again fired home.
Isufi's hat-trick would arrive not five minutes later, when he glanced a header in off
Lee Lee Hao's expectant lob from the left. The assist was also to be Lee's last act of the day, with an impatient
Low Aik Jia chomping at the bit to get into the fray. Low was so eager to get going that he even missed the customary high-five with Lee on entering, and had to backtrack to complete it properly.
Unfortunately for Low, his teammates were already winding it down by then, though fellow winger
Wong Ping Shun did bag an amazing chip from a tight-angle, before hogging the highlight reel with a scarcely less eye-catching free-kick. Double digits would not be attained as Graham made several excellent stops, however, and Mohd Safri left with a yellow card to his name after a petulant shove on Pallard.
