SaxyTeam Buzzed
Mottl Impresses
The Birds welcomed Hattrick International fifth divisioners SaxyTeam Budapest to The Cooking Pot for a workout, and the visitors sure did put up a good show, and were headed for a score draw until the last ten minutes. The day belonged however to Czech forward
Prokop Mottl, who continued to press for more first-team appearances with a worthy hat-trick.
SaxyTeam Budapest were part of a storied legacy, with their Debrecen-based originators having been a fixture of the Hungarian landscape for over fifty seasons, with another Maldives offshoot having climbed to Division Two. Local boss Lőrinc Kozári had however been critiqued for his lack of a coherent development plan, though SaxyTeam Budapest did retain a handful of defensive stars; Lithuanian centreback Tilius Bigelis was probably their biggest name, but he didn't make the trip down to Singapore, leaving Turkish rightback Rıfat Pir and local icon Ádám Rábai to take up the mantle.
As for Grilled,
Hovaness Noubaryan wasn't about to rest all his best players out of injury and overworking concerns, but when since had skipper
Moey Xin Seng turned down a match? A host of reserves did get their chance today though, and 42 year-old striker
Pompeo Bellamoli made his first start in ages. He would however be thoroughly overshadowed by his partner on the day.
This friendly was certainly never going to be a classic in the quality sense, and there were frequent hints that many of the participants weren't clear about what they were supposed to be doing, at times. Even Pál Mogyorós' late tackle on
Vikram Mudaliar in the 20th minute looked to be more a botch than anything, and he had the good grace to apologize immediately. It wouldn't take too much to score in this comedy of errors, and László Biró did just that for the visitors 26 minutes in, making full use of Pir's storming run down the right.
Mudaliar would miss a great chance to reply instantly as he failed to keep control of
Chu Xin Lee's wondrous forty-yard through pass over the top, but the Birds would find themselves back level soon enough, as SaxyTeam Budapest goalkeeper Ernő Farkas fumbled a corner under some pressure from
José Luiz Velho. Mottl nicked that one, and it was 2-1 a couple of minutes later, as
Pompeo Bellamoli demonstrated that while he might have lost a lot of his mobility, his shooting from a standstill remained as natural and sweet as ever.
Half-time saw
Chirag Thevar and
Leonard Nguyen replace Bellamoli and Velho, who while busy during their watch, were clearly looking their age. SaxyTeam Budapest were far from disheartened, and they put together some of their best counterattacks in the early part of the second half. Zsolt Lalusz came close in the 53rd but was let down by a weak finish, a deficiency that would be rectified by Rıfat Pir two minutes later. The Turkish fullback had been the visitors' top performer in almost all departments, and his resolute strike left
Eren Serpin grasping at air.
The Birds were certainly not operating up to their full potential, this taking into account the mishmash of personnel, and SaxyTeam Budapest looked like they might steal it for a moment. They wouldn't, and mostly because of one man. With Nguyen a willing runner but offering not much else,
Prokop Mottl often had to go it on his own, which was what he managed in the 79th minute. Rather than delay another attack by passing it back, Mottl elected instead to lift it over Farkas, and he found the net with barely an inch to spare on the dropping lob.
Grilled were fully back in control now, and their withering pressure took its toll on SaxyTeam Budapest's flat back five, with
Vikram Mudaliar razing it with his near-supernatural acceleration for a fourth. The match then had to be stopped for a period, after an unrestrained clash of knees between
Kalki Parvathaneni and Gergő Orbán as they made for a loose ball. It seemed a fair challenge, but Kalki was booked after it became evident that Orbán wouldn't continue.
His replacement Márk Selmeczi had barely gotten into position, when Zsolt Lalusz had to put it behind for a corner, following a return of possession to Grilled on a carelessly-flighted free-kick deep into the Birds' territory.
Chirag Thevar's big header would be instinctively parried by Farkas, but this merely left the waiting Mottl with another easy mop-up operation.
The visitors were not done yet, and they made a play for one more goal, with Rábai sending them off on the break after
Bernie Egan mislaid an all too obvious pass to Mottl. Pál Mogyorós had the touch to bring the last ball down, smooth as butter, but not the composure to keep the finish on target.
