Dudes Dusted
Xin Lee Out
Grilled's first trip to San Marino had them take on Dude Ranch IV, offshoot of the Italian original, and it was quite honestly a mismatch given the stark gulf in the clubs' history thus far. Carlo Stangalino would at least ensure that the hosts wouldn't end the day without something to show, and
Chu Xin Lee was left with a strained thigh to recover from.
Having just completed their first full season, Dude Ranch IV would have a trophy to show for it too, as they won the national Battle for Division IV together with their leaguemates, even if they would finish fourth in IV.2. Aussie head coach Freddie Mara had been prudent with his spending thus far, with his most expensive purchase being 18 year-old Guarino Bausola from Schalke TeMeto 04 for S$150000 - which has to be a steal, with the developing midfielder already being eyed for the San Marino U-20 squad.
Bausola would however but play second fiddle to the homegrown Francesco Piccinonno, even if their supposed rivalry was nowhere on display here. The local commentators would put forth Piccinonno's partnership with Pierpaolo Lumbroso as one to watch, but when it came down to it, it would be makeshift goalkeeper Eusebio Buonanotte who would be the most involved - in retrieving the ball out of his own net.
It had to be said that this wasn't an especially formidable Grilled lineup, but
Kalki Parvathaneni alone up top was probably more than what the Ranchers were used to dealing with. The initial going would be marked by Massimiliano Della Ventura's heedless abandon, and Lumbroso might well have scored had he been paying attention in the fifth minute. As it was, Kalki would open off
Heng Dong Chu's cross in the tenth, but Stangalino would equalize off another unconventional Ventura pass, soon after.
That was about as far as the hosts would come, and although Grilled weren't exactly steamrolling their opponents, it wasn't hard to guess what the outcome would be.
Prokop Mottl's go-ahead goal in the 21st added to the air of inevitability, and Mara might well have recognized it from how he took Stangalino off some six minutes later, likely to preserve him for more critical contests.
German veteran Hanno Cermak, while willing, was less than comfortable in defence, but Dude Ranch IV would cope for now.
Chu Xin Lee would overstretch himself as the Birds made a move in the 37th minute, which ended with Heng bending it way over the bar. The home team were not unscathed either, as Graziano Tranchida tweaked his own knee trying to keep up, and Mara would nominate himself as the replacement as he took the field alongside
José Luiz Velho.
This was altogether too much of a downgrade for the Ranchers to continue holding out, and they would concede twice more before half-time, with both previous scorers adding to their tally. Mottl would make the most of his centre-forward position to harry and press to a turnover and snipe, before Kalki renewed his supply agreement with Heng on the left, for another Heng-assisted strike.
Teo Chuan Yong, who had been typically hardworking but mostly unnoticed, would be replaced by
Radovan Jaška for the second half. There was no pretense that the hosts could put up a real resistance by this point, and it was merely a question of how many goals Grilled was up to. As it happened, the Birds were not yet in a retiring mood, and
Chirag Thevar,
Neeraj Muthyala and
Heng Dong Chu would put it past Buonanotte by the hour mark.
A ten-minute lull later, Grilled would resume their previous service, with
Neeraj Muthyala first getting to
Mateja Jeftić's corner in the 57th minute;
Moey Xin Seng would then put in the ninth on a confident drive from left wing, and after
Prokop Mottl got booked for dissent, Kalki would polish off his hat-trick with a delightful nutmeg on the goalkeeper.
