UDNTK Flipped
Salmiņš Stuffs Carda
It is not often that the goalkeeper is the protagonist in a Grilled Birds game, but
Jānis Salmiņš would manage that with what was probably his most definitive performance, since arriving from diagorakla for a record-breaking S$19 million. An early penalty save had him gain the mental edge over UDNTK FC's Joan Carda - who could easily have had a hat-trick on another day, against another goalie - and all of Andrija Galov's skills availed him not either, against the Latvian.
In fact, it would not have been far off the mark to term this an upset, given how the hosts were objectively at least the Birds' equal, in most departments. They had certainly not forgotten how close they had run Grilled at The Cooking Pot, and on that evidence, they definitely had what it took to bring the games to the Birds at home. To this end, they would include former national U-20 forward Quincy Ton in a three-man strikeforce, with Simon Nothhaft also starting in midfield, to give it some added heft.
Eren Serpin would shift
Chu Xin Lee into the centre in an effort to unlock his creativity, while also starting
Heng Dong Chu in the league for the first time this season - surely not what the highly-reputed winger had expected, five seasons after transferring from a.c. Pirati. Still, it was clear that the 30 year-old was out to give as best an impression of himself as possible, as he limbered up on the left.
The heavy ground after an all-nighter rainstorm made slick movement difficult, and the game would begin as something of a wrestle in the mud, that largely went the hosts' way. UDNTK FC found themselves holding the ball in Grilled's final third more often than not, which the Birds found no way around.
Bilal Mohammad Harun would soon have cause to regret bumping into Ton just inside the box, which led to a penalty as the striker willingly went to ground... but Joan Carda was too lax with his take, which Salmiņš gathered up simply by standing his ground.
That was a big letoff indeed, but UDNTK FC remained in very much the better position, as they continued to press into the Birds' half. This lasted until Daniel Tăsică limped off with a groin injury in the 21st minute, which proved the turning point. Their previous concentration broken, they would prove vulnerable as Grilled pushed back through the middle, and Georgian substitute Zakaria Chitinashvili was not up to stopping Bilal's aggressive run-and-gun. Martin Barbara was chipped for the go-ahead goal.
This changed the complexion of the match to a large extent, with UDNTK's Benjamin Godlieb-led midfield increasingly put on the defensive.
Heng Dong Chu would take his time to get going against Andrzej Znyk, to his evident frustration, but the dribble that had him surge into the left side of the penalty area in the 40th minute was a sight to behold. Simon Nothhaft arrived with the sliding block, but Heng had lofted it on to
Kalle ter Berg by then, and the Dutchman would lump it in first-time.
The Birds wouldn't have it all their way as Arwin Burghgraaff reduced on a brilliant through pass a couple of minutes later, but they definitely had more cause to be happy, as they entered the break in the lead. The 1-2 scoreline hid stellar contributions from Salmiņš, who other than his penalty save, had handled several potentially-dicey situations with grace, as a sweeper-keeper.
There would be more to come from Grilled's Number One, as he got a big hand to Carda's free-kick boomer to the top corner in the 62nd, which no-one could reasonably have put on him had he failed to stop it. The Spanish forward didn't take that too well, and appeared visibly affected on UDNTK's next few possessions. Serpin saw the need to mix it up, and
Wu Jinglong would enter for Heng as an inverted winger.
This was a role seldom played by Wu, who prefers the right flank, but he was nothing if not professional in doing his part. With this, Grilled's offensive focus would shift towards
Kalki Parvathaneni - coincidentally also switching sides - on the other wing, and he would not disappoint with his numerous unrelenting runs on the defence. Most of them would fail, some badly, but as the commentator would note after he blew past André Celedón to score in the 79th minute: once was more than enough.
UDNTK FC could hardly believe how it had gone, quite rightly from how they had controlled large swathes of the play just before that, and they would seek to cut Grilled's advantage in an almost frenzied manner. Grilled would barely avoid giving away another penalty as
Mateja Jeftić brought Andrija Galov down just before he breached the box, but
Jānis Salmiņš had the Indian sign over Carda today, and saved from the incredulous striker a third time.
Galov would then go it himself after sending Bilal the wrong way on UDNTK's next move, only to swish his shot about a yard wide of the post. The hosts were absolutely hammering at Grilled's goalmouth now, and it seemed as they had most of their team ready and waiting in the penalty area, when André Celedón lifted the ball in from deep. Quincy Ton did great to dodge his marker and get a surprise back-header in, but even that was not enough to faze Salmiņš on this day. Instead, it would be
Bernie Egan who would pad the Birds' goal advantage, with a speculative piledriver in added time.
