Manchester Outbrawled
That Kalki On The Left
Grilled Birds returned to the top of the S-League table with an electrifying 5-2 away win against -= Manchester United =-, whose bid to erase their Fringeheads defeat would thereby be delayed. While United have faced Grilled Birds in sixteen competitive games before this, they have not managed a win for the last six, and this would prove no different as the Birds' unshakeable self-belief on attack served them well.
Once one of Grilled's most-feared bogey sides, United had not done well against them for some years, though they did come pretty close on both league fixtures in the last season. With the last seven meetings between the two famously-expressive teams having resulted in at least four goals, no-one was really expecting a quiet affair at Old Trafford today; United would have an ace up their sleeve in the form of debuting Canadian goalkeeper Izydor Tovtuk, however, as they had finally found their replacement for South Korean international Man-Shik So. At nearly S$20 million from Peruvian cupwinners Los Fuckin Sombreros, the 30 year-old Tovtuk had a name to live up to.
Hilal Bakhtiar's approach for this match would be to squeeze the play with tucked-in wing support from
Kalki Parvathaneni and
Chu Xin Lee, but it was not certain whether this would be enough. United were well capable of doing the same, and while their German head coach Przemysław Kuziemski had been welcoming offers for some of their veterans, there being no major moves as yet meant that they could bring their full might to bear at home.
Their supporters would soon be let down, unfortunately, as it was Grilled who went hardest at their opponents from the beginning. Buoyed by a home victory against Haha, the Birds would be unrestrained in trusting to their preferred style, and United were not exactly set up to play a waiting game. Jahid Abdul Rahman tried to impose order in midfield, but the nature of the teams meant that whoever seized the initiative, was likely to snowball it. Thus was it for the Birds, who opened the scoring through Kalki in the 12th minute, as he slickly exchanged roles with
Moey Xin Seng to Aleixo Cruzul's confusion.
The -= Manchester United =- fans made up the bulk of the over sixty thousand in attendance today, and they weren't shy about making their displeasure known. This would have little impact on the goings-on where it mattered, and the Birds would push up the right wing via
Chu Xin Lee next. His cross would be awkwardly blocked early on, and only to ranging Norwegian defender
Sølve Lunde, who didn't think twice before putting out the volley - which flew high out of Tovtuk's reach, for his first competitive goal for the club.
Well, the stadium commentators were resorting to noting that United themselves had taken the lead twice early against Sarcastic Fringeheads last week, only to be hauled back in, but there was really no evidence of the spirit they showed then today. A bad calf injury to Radim Chvátal sustained in the cup had robbed them of his dynamism together with Sim Chin Chi down the right, and they moreover had bad matchups between their big defenders, and Grilled's pace merchants on the ground. Tall Belgian centreback Beau Gilmont could hardly be expected to match
Vikram Mudaliar in a fair footrace, and indeed he wouldn't, as Grilled's Number Nine pushed the ball past him and ran on to apply the finish just ahead of a despairing Tovtuk, after 26 minutes.
The Birds' small travelling party were really rubbing it in now, and from how United were fluffing their legitimate openings, the result appeared a foregone conclusion even before half-time. This was all the more with Kalki impressing with another of his much-awaited drives from deep to add a fourth in the 38th minute. The hosts would finally get their say two minutes after that, with Jahid Abdul Rahman making the most of indecisive communication between Lunde and
Gilbert Webb, but the United midfielder's glum expression even as he made to reclaim the ball said it all really.
Grilled would make one change for the second half, with
Kalle ter Berg on for
Salah Kamel, as they sought to keep their energy levels up in midfield. They would be confronted by a United team with nothing to lose and plenty of offensive flair themselves, though, and the Birds would for once be left behind, as Sim led a sustained United rally. This went on until Ejler Haugaard was released in the 52nd minute, but the Danish forward pumped his shot almost straight at
Jānis Salmiņš, who however still had to get an arm in the way.
There would be no relief for the hosts, as Grilled ironically came away with the goal from their long build-up. United tried to press the Birds into a turnover as Lunde shuffled about trying to get rid of the ball following Salmiņš' block, but a smart reverse cross-flank pass to
Bilal Mohammad Harun would instead lay the foundations for a full-on Grilled counter. They had the numbers down the right flank, and
Chu Xin Lee would engage in a cute give-and-go with
Chan Ze Han as the coup de grâce, for 5-1.
More than a few empty seats were to be seen as heads hung on the United end, but they did at least hold themselves together. Indeed, United probably had the better of the final half-hour, with Grilled not being overly interested in running up the score; Clarke Singal would get a second for them on Dejan Skrt's neat through pass, but Horst Friedrich Dalen would not be able to make the endgame a bit more interesting, as his attempt was saved by Salmiņš.
Mateja Jeftić came on for Webb at that, and he made the final fifteen minutes a lot more boring.
