Gahan Gagged
Moey Charms
Indian H.I. club Dave Gahan were routed in a friendly with Grilled, who were themselves carried by a marauding
Moey Xin Seng. It wasn't an especially motivated Birds team that took to the field, what with cup fever just behind them, but it didn't particularly matter against the untested Gahan reserves.
There was some confusion at kickoff, with striker Ionuţ Băduţ apparently not gotten the memo about a last-minute change in the lineup. He would be switched off for Israeli youngster Heidr Roushdy during the first stoppage, which in turn was followed immediately by
Vikram Mudaliar's dash-and-shoot scooting past Servando Coronado, with the rest of the defence seemingly waiting for further instructions.
That about summed up the day, as the Birds made it an attacking carnival. Other than the much-bothered Maurice Malte Isecke in goal, there wasn't much to write home about Gahan's lineup, who however mostly had but a handful of pro matches under their belt.
José Luiz Velho and
Remco van der Ban bombed forward with impunity, and made it 3-0 by the 21st minute.
Moey's only mistake up to that point would be his overly thought-out effort that whistled by the far post, when a cruder approach would probably have sufficed. Erik Forsby would earn the only yellow of the game for a late takedown of
Leong Wan Kang, after which
Chan Ze Han would light up with a variety-filled brace.
A double substitution of
Prokop Mottl and
Chirag Thevar in for Velho and Rashid refreshed the Grilled team for the second half, and
Chu Xin Lee made it six, after a jittery exchange between Isecke and Karol Sabak. The goalie rushed his next pass with Leong eagerly encroaching, which went only as far as the waiting Chu.
It would probably be wrong to read too deeply into Grilled's doings against such inadequate opposition, but Mottl for one retained enough interest to earn a penalty in the 72nd, which
Jérémy Tarin put away. Moey cleaned up with two minutes remaining, springing high to knock a header home despite competition from Isecke.
