Slinking By Saqsay
Prokop Power
Grilled returned with a hard-earned win from Barbados, where they found the going tough against Hattrick International fifth division high-fliers Deportivo Saqsayhuaman. The hosts knew how to stretch their opponents out in the famously-torrid climate, and despite the one-sided possession stats, the Birds were never comfortable at Alcázar de Tupaq Amaru.
Admittedly a very young and developing team, Saqsayhuaman were by no means amateurish, and local teenager James Curry's stature belied his seventeen years, as he led their men out alongside distant cousin Franklyn Curry, in only his second senior game.
Intent upon a soak-and-strike strategy, Curry and company sat deep in a 5-4-1, with 36 year-old Theodore Painter tasked to play off the shoulder of
Hoàng Trung Quá; it was certainly quite the family affair here, with his younger brother Lionel Painter supporting from midfield.
Grilled undeniably had the edge in pure footballing terms, but it was extremely difficult to make a lasting impression against players who covered each others' weaknesses well. It took nineteen minutes to produce a first strike on target -
Iman Eshrafi forcing a fine save out of Stephen Mayers - and twenty-six before
Prokop Mottl put them ahead with a neat passing shot.
It was the beginning of a relative period of weakness for Saqsayhuaman, who never quite came to grips with the tricky young Czech. Relishing his time against a ponderous Rohan Hart at right wing, Mottl was in an especially creative mood, and some of his slicker flicks won recognition from even the boisterous home crowd.
Prokop was really running the show at this stage as his teammates wisely deferred to the guy with hot feet, and Mottl obliged, firing just wide in the 30th after a long dribble that included a sensational nutmegging of the junior Painter. Not discouraged in the least, Mottl continued plugging away, and got his reward four minutes later as James Curry chose the wrong man to tail.
It was about all the hosts could do to see out the first half, such was Mottl's command by then. However, if they were hoping that he would cool off during the rest break, they were sadly mistaken. Grilled came out sporting a new central defence of
Gene Filippone and
Mohd Jafni Abdul Majid, but little changed wide right, as Mottl kept on chugging.
For once, his inventiveness would backfire, though through little fault of his own. Another brilliant shuffle saw the unstoppable Number 27 bang it off the post two minutes after the restart, but this time, Franklyn Curry's long clearance was held up expertly by Theodore Painter. Cambodian youngster Khean Nourn showed incredible sustained pace as he raced the length of the pitch, the final twenty yards with the ball, before bending it past
Dan Seng beautifully.
If Mottl hadn't slowed, Saqsayhuaman were at least catching up, and they began clawing their way back. Dwight Lamy was however a bit of a disappointment as he failed to spot several good openings, while Hart remained woefully exposed against his nemesis, and was forced to take a yellow card in the 55th.
The Birds got a little boost on the hour, as
Pompeo Bellamoli was given an airing for the overshadowed
Dante Tran. This change-up took Saqsayhuaman some adjusting to, and they would fall further behind through a no-nonsense
Moey Xin Seng finish, after
José Luiz Velho's low-percentage blind backflick came off perfectly.
Overall, it was tough going for the Birds, who were really beginning to feel the effects of the dry heat. The Grilled trainers had been actively urging their players to rotate around to the sidelines to pick up waterbottles whenever they could, and despite these precautions, the match still had to be stopped for the stricken
Kalki Parvathaneni to be treated. He would have to stay on, however, since Grilled had used up all their substitutions.
The Birds' ardour for finding more goals was considerably doused by the temperature, which was yet rising, and they yielded the stage to Saqsayhuaman, who had more left in reserve. Still, Saqsayhuaman weren't exactly convincing in attack, but they had a stroke of fortune with two minutes left, as the ever-raring Mottl finally laid himself low with an awkward takedown of Hart.
Mottl would be having his twisted arm looked at when Lionel Painter lined up the free-kick, and instead of angling in the cross as most had expected, Painter fired it straight in at the near post. It wasn't entirely clear whether he had meant that, and it didn't change the final outcome, but the crowd definitely enjoyed it nonetheless!
