Closing The Garpe
Egan For Six
Injury-stricken
Bernie Egan might have had just the one unprepossessing start against The EV, after having to sit out nearly half the season thus far following his knee giving out in the Hattrick Masters; however, from how he absolutely dismantled Myanmar fourth division hosts Garpe-Shan United this morning, there could be few doubts that the Irish star is already back close to his best.
Garpe-Shan United were just a few months old, being an expansion of Spain's FC Garpe, alongside San Marino's Inter di Garpe. That said, they have been doing fairly well in the league, and have secured third place thus far. The recent departure of Belgian trainee goalkeeper Heino Schotte for a S$2.8 million profit does not seem to have affected them overly, with local recruits Ranajay Barua and Nay Thu living well up to expectations. The latter would, however, have a very bad time of it here.
The hosts' highest-profile player for this friendly was probably Finnish 21 year-old Juhana Rämä, who made his debut after a half-million dollar transfer from his native FC Fiilis. Austrian playmaker Christian Zischek and German fullback Bert Wutzky would also make their first appearances in Garpe-Shan's white-and-yellow, with Sami Iisalo relegated to the bench. Frankly speaking, Iisalo might have accounted himself fortunate, as the Birds wasted no time in utterly bossing midfield. They were two goals up by the tenth minute, with
Prokop Mottl and then
Cyril Künzler left free to advance upon Thu, both coming up with chipped finishes at the last instant.
The Burmese weren't helping themselves with a suicidal-in-these-circumstances 2-5-3 formation, though that was probably down to their Spanish gaffer Alberto Xavier figuring that it wouldn't matter much either way. Chilean winger David Zuburu nearly gifted Egan it on a plate about twelve minutes in, but the Grilled forward got a heavy touch on it - which was the last mistake he made in this game.
Garpe-Shan had their moment eventually, as Grilled lost themselves after
Moey Xin Seng put it home, 28 minutes in; the Birds were getting very careless then, and home captain Yan Thein Win would spy Htet Min Oo making a run for it, after he had retrieved from a failed kick-off gambit. Yan's searching through ball fell very kindly indeed for the intended target, as
Chirag Thevar's attempted sliding clearance came up short.
Manuel Vadalà faced off against Htet, who stared right back before shuffling the ball across and over the line.
That, however, had the hosts up in their own heads instead, from how they neglected their defensive discipline on their next foray, and
Bernie Egan would punish them for it. It was hard to deny that they were enjoying themselves, if a bit less when
Heng Dong Chu smashed into the teenaged Wutzky, after 35 minutes. Heng might have been trying to make his case for a return to Grilled's first-choice lineup, but while his hunger wasn't misplaced, that tackle clearly was, and he would be rightly cautioned for it.
Grilled would make a triple substitution for the second half, with Künzler, Thevar and Mottl off, and Wu, Jaška and Velho on. Coincidentally, this would be mirrored by Garpe-Shan, who took two of their debutants off, for Zayar Htet Min and Sei Thu Min Than. There would also be a swopping of roles on their right flank, with Comoros recruit Azizi Gachaga advancing into a more-offensive position, and Georges Luley falling back.
Not that it mattered much, as Grilled immediately extended their lead to 5-1, as
Yee Jian Hui busted Luley for pace there. The
Bernie Egan show then began in earnest, as the Irish forward revealed that he had several more gears left in his trunk. Nyein Min Hteik had no idea what Egan was doing when he flicked an awkward pass over him in the 56th minute, but the Irishman certainly did, as he went on to bang it over Thu with his very next touch.
It was, however, curtains for
Manuel Vadalà after this goal. Garpe-Shan United understandably had little interest in defence by now, and were throwing it all into getting a second consolation strike for their supporters. There was no lack of numbers as they arranged a high ball straight into the box from the restart, and Vadalà would catch Htet Min Oo's head square in his ribcage, as both went up for the ball. The finish was obviously not going to be allowed, but the Italian custodian wasn't about to be able to carry on, in any case.
For some reason, third-choice goalkeeper
Louis Vara would not be able to replace Vadalà, which had midfielder
Kalle ter Berg sportingly step up instead. Kalle did cut a fine figure in the goalie's kit, and in any case, there wasn't much he would have to do. All the action would be at the other end, with Luley again embarassed by honest pace, as
Bernie Egan earned his first hat-trick.
Egan was just getting started, but there would be an intermission of sorts, as
Wu Jinglong affirmed that he remained one of Grilled's most dangerous players to face on the go, when fresh. Neither Gachaga nor Luley could get a handle on him once he worked up to full speed, and rather than concede a likely penalty and sending-off, they would allow him an open shot - and goal - instead.
Grilled might have accepted this as a sign to wind things down on another day, but a fired-up
Bernie Egan would veto any such inclinations. 64 minutes in, he would chase
Heng Dong Chu's whipped cross to make it 9-1, and despite Thomas Köhrer-Klees' yellow for shutting a quick resumption down on Egan's very next dribble, the Heng-Egan partnership would produce two more goals by the 74th. Garpe-Shan would allow German lad Louis Leverenz on for the final ten minutes, but he could hardly hide that he didn't think it a worthwhile cameo.
