Deity Denied
Chu Charms
Grilled Birds' cup opener was scheduled against Geylang semi-pros ALLAHISGREAT, and the grassroots outfit certainly had a loyal following, as they packed their ground to capacity. The middle-aged band of brothers had garnered six Division Five titles whilst largely remaining weekend warriors, and despite a spirited early defence, they would eventually yield to the inevitable.
ALLAHISGREAT's main attacking go-to would be 38 year-old left winger Yeo Wen Puay, who had evidently been quite the neighbourhood name, while captain and defender Anthony Nguyen was famed for for his tactical knowledge, than any physical attributes. Under his direction, they didn't do badly at all for the first twenty minutes, though it did take a lot of doubling-and-tripling up on Grilled's attackers.
The hosts obviously wouldn't be able to maintain that level of hustle for much longer, and Grilled would open through
Moey Xin Seng, whose decision to stake out the far side of the box proved ideal, as
Cyril Künzler whipped it long. There looked to be a deflection or two as the strike ping-ponged through a maze of players, but nobody else looked like claiming the goal.
The real deluge wouldn't begin until nine minutes later, as ALLAHISGREAT's defence in depth made advancing slow. The slog would be punctuated by
Bernie Egan's snapping up of a short distribution by goalie Jerome Yang for 2-0, and
Neeraj Muthyala would then volley another in from Künzler.
Heng Dong Chu would only then come into his own with an assist for
Chan Ze Han before his own header, and
Vikram Mudaliar had it 6-0 by half-time.
ALLAHISGREAT's crowd took it in their stride, however, and the match would resume about as good-naturedly as might be imagined. There was a dicey moment when
Chu Xin Lee nodded a seventh in after 50 minute, in the process elbowing Lee Loong Chin's chin, as he used his arms to gain height. Referee Gilles Bajokijayi ultimately let the goal stand, and Lee would take a couple of minutes to clear his head.
Chu then added another as
Neeraj Muthyala racked up his second assist of the day, as he proved more than able to pick individuals out from the flank. Jerome Yang put his best side forward in the 62nd minute, tipping
Bernie Egan's fine effort over, but the goalkeeper could do nothing against
Cyril Künzler's pair of penalties, both aimed at the same top left corner. His teammates could hardly complain at those being given either - such were the dangers of defending with arms out on the ground.
With double digits achieved, the big question was whose hat-trick it was going to be, as Künzler raced past the last man with Chu offering a second option, and the Polish winger very unselfishly yielded it to his teammate. This would also be Chu's last major involvement, as he was subbed off for
Prokop Mottl several minutes later.
Chan Ze Han would have a go from just over the halfway line as the referee prepared to blow for time, and he did come pretty close there.
