Even Sailing
Ze Han On It
Grilled Birds advanced to the semifinals of the Singapore Cup with nary a wobble, dismissing S-League fellows The EV for the second time already this season. The first, of course, had been the season opener in which
Chan Ze Han contributed with a brace to a splendid 5-2 victory, and although the Number Eleven had not been slated to start this day, this couldn't keep him from repeating the feat.
The EV's experiences since that loss haven't exactly been the best, as they have been unable to find victory after rebounding with a 7-0 whipping of Puh erh, though their most recent draws against FC Barca Singapore and Bot Team FC were probably at least credible. They fared rather better in cup competition, and after surviving a stiff Upright Stick of Justice challenge in the fourth round, they about ran riot against Talpons and Arcturules, before conceding a consolation in each case.
Mario Velasco would adapt by ordering a more compact, centralized defence than had been attempted in that previous meet, and stuck with much their usual 3-5-2 otherwise; The EV would miss influential forward João Infante Amanajás through injury, however, and Barry Nakamura lost out in midfield to Chang Wai Rong. Similarly, it was basically a repeat for the Birds, with the notable exception of cup Golden Boot contender
Bernie Egan getting unceremoniously dropped, with
Chu Xin Lee fighting his way into the front three.
Eren Serpin certainly wasn't about to discuss that decision, but as the commentators observed, he was certainly turning out to be more hard-nosed of a leader, than originally made out to be. There were few indications that it was misguided either, with Chu looking very lively against Lars Smalbil indeed. The EV hardly shrank before the humongous crowd of over a hundred thousand either, with Yeoh Cheng Lai quite the force in midfield, against the Birds' threatened depredations.
As has so often been the case with the Birds this season, they would gradually tighten the screws, making more and more of their possession. The EV were slowly pushed back, and had their first great escape when
Neeraj Muthyala somehow managed to kick it straight at the man on the post, when having most of the goal gaping before him on
Bilal Mohammad Harun's bespoke knockdown.
Moey Xin Seng wasn't one to mope, fortunately, and he did Muthyala's job for him, as
Salah Kamel pumped it straight back into the box.
Chu Xin Lee would then repay Serpin's faith, as he capitalized on the slightest hesitation amongst The EV's backline, to duck in behind as
Vikram Mudaliar released the ball. The match was very obviously beginning to slip entirely away from the City stalwarts now, and knowing that they could hardly afford another blow, Lars Smalbil took it upon himself to take
Kalki Parvathaneni down, as Kalki made to dart about him on the outside. The Dutchman got off cheap there, getting only a yellow despite Kalki having to limp off with a bandaged thigh.
Payback would come in the form of the ever-prepared
Chan Ze Han, who bagged a goal with his first touch, aptly from the awarded free-kick. There could be little question amongst the Grilled supporters in the makeshift extra seats by the touchline at Woodside Park, as Chan and company ran up to share their joy - they would be at the semis once more.
Still, it would hardly do to get complacent with an entire half yet to go, and The EV had certainly not accepted their fate yet, with Smalbil and Gemer going as far as to switch it up, just because. If this was Velasco's idea of tactical expediency, however, it wouldn't change too much, as Chan and Chu both had access to their full repertoire on this occasion.
Like the first half, The EV coped fairly well initially, only for Grilled's suffocating attacking pressure to eventually overwhelm. After another twenty minutes of being a decent match, Grilled's opponents would find themselves on the receiving end of a sustained shootout, with Moey landing a lob on the crossbar of former Pakistani youth international custodian Rizvi Younes.
Bilal Mohammad Harun, who had been a complete workhorse in the middle, then crashed a humdinger inches over, as The EV consolidated.
Grilled would not be denied forever, though, and
Chan Ze Han would leave Younes no chance in the 70th, as he raked it into the far bottom corner with a practised naturalness. Chu would come close too five minutes later, and The EV would have to wait for injury time, to create one last go at a consolation; sadly for them, Yeoh Cheng Lai would be matched for pace by
Kalle ter Berg, giving him no room for a clean shot.