Únicos Untied
Serpin Takes Charge
The final friendly of the season would be against Curaçao II.1 side Los Únicos, an affiliate of Switzerland's Magos Del Balon México, who had sponsored a series of short-lived ventures in South America before this. Únicos do seem to be humming along well, with homegrown striker Quentin Simmons already just one goal from the century mark, despite not yet being 24. He would not make an appearance today, though the hosts nonetheless put together a fairly respectable front three, and had another fan favourite in Christiaan Bito captaining the side.
The Birds weren't planning to shortchange the spectators for their part, and most of their selection would be made up of regular players, most notably a fully-recovered
Salah Kamel in central midfield. The commentators' attention would however be fixated on the unfamiliar sight of new head coach
Eren Serpin standing on the sidelines, with his mentor
Hovaness Noubaryan relegated to the back of the dugout. It would be Serpin's first official match in charge, and if new director of football Noubaryan wasn't about to let him face it alone, it was clear that Serpin would be making the decisions by himself.
Not that there were many, as Grilled swiftly attained an insurmountable advantage in ball possession, what with Kamel, Mudaliar and Egan outclassing their direct opponents; only senior playmaker Jair Gregorius made anything of an impression, and it was a matter of time before the Birds went ahead.
Moey Xin Seng, starting on the left wing, did the honours from a beseeching
Chu Xin Lee cross in the 20th.
Gilbert Webb's accurately-struck free-kick from the next minute - after Tarin's stepover - would just lack that bit of extra power behind it, allowing Franky de Maar to tip it over. Grilled would then be reduced to ten men as striker
José Luiz Velho received two bookings in the space of five minutes, the second one possibly slightly harsh. All eyes were on whether
Eren Serpin would respond, but the Austrian would merely pat a downcast Velho on the back as he trooped off, before watching as the match continued.
He was probably correct in not reacting, as Grilled had more than enough left in their locker, to take the game comfortably anyway.
Mohd Jafni Abdul Majid got past Paco Jonsansoro on the inside for 2-0, before Bradley Asporaat obtained Los Únicos' consolation goal, as the defender was encouraged to push far further than prudent. It would be 3-1 at half-time, after referee Anders Göransson swung Grilled's way on a penalty appeal, that
Jérémy Tarin rolled in.
Moey would rotate into attack for
Bilal Mohammad Harun for the second half, but most of the action would arise from the Chu-Egan combination on the right.
Jérémy Tarin called for it in the 57th minute, and Chu would oblige with a flick to his stronger foot, which Tarin gleefully slammed over Franky de Maar into the roof of the net.
Gilbert Webb would then follow up with a brace of his own, as he showed off his considerable talents at kicking a ball very hard from some distance.
The last goal of the match then came from
Bernie Egan's straightforward outrunning of Michel Simmons; further attempts by Chu and Mudaliar came close, but not quite enough, and
Leonard Nguyen wouldn't make too much of an impression after replacing Tarin for the last ten minutes.
