Terierite Twatted
Regal Neeraj
Bulgarian fifth division hosts Terierite found the Birds somewhat more than they had bargained for, though five wins in their last six competitive games probably made their heavy defeat easier to take. Then again, this was hardly the best that Grilled had to offer, even if
Neeraj Muthyala was a revelation at right wing.
Other than Muthyala being shifted wide,
Vikram Mudaliar continuing in midfield was another clear handicap, as
Leong Wan Kang and
José Luiz Velho were handed starts in the frontline.
Islom Davlatov would lead the line despite whispers of a falling-out with the coaching staff. He took all of five minutes to prove himself, flighting the opening goal past a slow-moving Angel Todorov, coming out of the left.
Terierite captain Boyan Angelov attempted to rally his men, but to little visible effect. The Birds favoured the right side strongly, what with Parvathaneni and Muthyala making plenty of inroads, and
José Luiz Velho was delighted to be able to flip one of Muthyala's crosses home, with thirteen minutes gone.
One can hardly keep a born forward down, and
Vikram Mudaliar would pointedly linger about his preferred position, a preference that his teammates kindly accommodated - and why not, seeing the assurance with which he dispatched
Chan Ze Han's tricky loft?
Muthyala would get in on the act himself with his first goal of the day a couple of minutes later, as Terierite attempted to track him ineffectually. Young Georgi Tomev was once more a sad non-entity, as he failed to prevent another Muthyala assist for Mudaliar 28 minutes in, though he did demonstrate admirable will in trying to discharge his duty, despite being physically outmatched.
Being five down didn't bother Finnish head coach Antti Kiisseli too much, going by how he chatted amicably with Alcántara throughout, with Terierite's minimal squad size a plausible excuse. Chavdar Denkov might possibly have fared better than reserve goalie Todorov, but he was understandably kept under wraps for more important occasions.
Already the standout of the first half,
Neeraj Muthyala would find another step up for the second. Frequently overlooked in central midfield, the homegrown Number Four clearly found his wing assignment liberating; he exuded a simple joy that had been missing from his game for a time, as he challenged opposing defenders unreservedly.
Tomev, even with Kolichkov's help, could not avoid being beaten by Muthyala's insistent advance in the 50th minute, but he did manage to buy some time for his fellows to swarm back en masse. That didn't deter Muthyala, however, as he merely cut back to the outside, before slipping a deceptively-nuanced effort in at the near post.
That was not the end of it for Muthyala, who was beginning to gather a special sort of aura about him. Some minutes later, he would complete his hat-trick from a corner kick. To be fair to the home team, the Birds were always going to be favourites once
Jérémy Tarin's delivery cleared the first man, and Nikolay Takev had done well to deny
Chan Ze Han first dibs.
Chan Ze Han might not have hit the dizzying heights he is undoubtedly capable of, but he did have a few moments too, chief of which was his opportunistic off-the-ball feint and cut, in anticipation of
Iman Eshrafi's pass. Eshrafi did deliver, and Chan hit it decently well, but Todorov made perhaps his first quality stop of the day.
A little incident then drew some gulps from the Grilled contingent, as the fired-up Muthyala bit off rather more than he could chew on in the 65th minute. While trying to wriggle out of a three-man coverage, he tripped almost comically over his own feet, and landed heavily on his left arm to break his fall. Parvathaneni clearly feared the worst by how quickly he ran over, but it turned out to fortunately be nothing of mention.
It remained an eminently forgettable outing for Terierite, regardless, and the Birds could hardly begrudge them a consolation goal. With Muthyala called to the sideline for further inspection, Terierite finally found space down their left. Todor Kolichkov took the opportunity to swing a few in at the neglected Hristo Konyarski, who would head in unchallenged, before getting hauled up for a yellow on his next call to action.
