Anxiety Melted
Farmer Bunnies and Grilled International too got through their respective first rounds, with Woodlands-based Division Four club Freeze FC making a fair go of it against the Buns. They managed a very close miss off a corner from Wong Ah Tse's big header, before
Ibrahim Zahran Al-Maashany got Bunnies off and running, from
Vishnu Tallapaka's inch-perfect cross in the 35th.
Up-and-coming Nitin Nukaraju continued building his burgeoning reputation, aceing a free-kick for his twelfth goal in just seven career matches, but Al-Maashany would meander in from the left to restore Bunnies' lead.
Aswad Mohd Jafni confirmed the win with thirteen minutes remaining.
Sikong Darong would note Freeze FC's positive approach afterwards, and also had a word of sympathy for their stricken defender Bryson Kim, who had to come off after
Wong Ting Yew's follow-through caught him between the legs, late in the first half.
Grilled International likewise prevailed over Spain's F.C. Zaragoza in their own encounter, and they had
Querubim Santos Couto to thank for just about denying Angelo Milanesi a near-certain goal in the 13th minute - had the International custodian not gotten his challenge inch-perfect, it would have been a sending-off and penalty.
Couto's teammate weren't about to let that stroke of luck go begging, and
Safari bin Hj Jali converted a corner in the 25th. Veteran Finnish forward Mikko Sandelin answered near-instantly, but Safari then nearly had a repeat from another corner, only for
Yao Erguo to pick up the pieces.
