Rubiskaya Repeat
Mirror Scoreline
Chai Yew-Hoe saved Grilled's blushes as his two goals edged feisty Rubiskaya. The game's dawn had ran as scripted for Grilled, with replacement striker Machado fitting into the role of goalscorer with aplomb.
Zhan Ju-Hau acted as a roving forward, but it was
Chai Yew-Hoe who reaped the dividends as Rubiskaya was caught unawares by an attack on the sluggish left flank. Rubiskaya must have rued not placing a winger there as Grilled had free run on that side of the field. Grilled were heartened by the departure of Russian Boris Bounine who hopped off the pitch clutching his foot, and homed in on the weakened defence. Kek-Tjiang's finishing shot richocheted off the bottom of the post, to be polished off by Yew-Hoe. Grilled should have taken notice of Rubiskaya's strength going forward as their three strikers harassed Tuan-Mu no end, but Grilled refused to lay back and almost paid for it later. There was little to choose between Guo-Ning, bin Omar and Englishman Danny Shrubb, but the latter did cause panic as Rubiskaya's chosen point man.
Rubiskaya had it their way after the break, once
Miguel Reed's poor landing after a tackle caused him to play with a hobble for the remainder of the game. Yang Kee-Boem executed Rubiskaya's maiden attempt on goal, but Bao-Tam handled that well, or so it seemed until Danny Shrubb's leg came out and stabbed the ball in, scoring yet again against the Birds. He raised his game with that, and Rubiskaya pushed the ball about till the experienced Magnus Larsson got to a clearance ahead of Dai-Lin and pumped a hasty cross downfield. Guo-Ning had been left out by the undermanned Grilled defence, and he had time to consider his header, finally settling for a soft one over a sliding Bao-Tam. Grilled were looking at two precious points down the drain when
Zhan Ju-Hau broke rapidly in the closing stages of the game, and espying Reed to his left, but Yew-Hoe coming from deep to his right, opted for Yew-Hoe. Yew-Hoe's skitterish shot, to the loud dismay of the home fans, dropped below Yo-Hsin's grasp. Rubiskaya could still have stolen a deserved draw had midfielder Da Huat-Seng not waited after beating half the Grilled defence, but as it was Sun-Nee sped to him, forcing a wild swing which powered the ball over. Shrubb, who had exhausted Tuan-Mu with his sprints, and was cautioned for his overenthusiastic movement, looked crestfallen. Yew-Hoe suddenly paused in the final minutes, but to the delight of the few Grilled supporters present picked himself up immediately, and for that the gamewinner received a rousing ovation.
