Waning Moon
Crypto Put In Place
Crypto Moon had been the surprise of the S-League early on, after they managed to find themselves top of the table and unbeaten, after three rounds. Grilled Birds had something to say about that, however, as they swiftly renounced claims to equivalence between the clubs just yet. The hosts might quantitatively boast of one of the top midfields in the country, but even that paled when put alongside Grilled's collection.
Crypto Moon, recall, had humbled both Sarcastic Fringeheads and The EV in the previous weeks, for which much had to be accounted to their seamless interplay between midfield and attack - which many have not failed to note, was quite reminiscent of the Birds' own pattern. Their German gaffer Horst Peter Sonnenberg would have everyone available for this game, but somehow elected to leave his central defence relatively empty, against Grilled's strengths in that region. If this was some ploy, it didn't come off.
Grilled Birds would take to the field this rainy day again without club captain
Moey Xin Seng, with
Chan Ze Han donning the armband in his absence.
Chu Xin Lee would be promoted back to the frontline following some excellent tournament displays, with
Kalki Parvathaneni and
Kalle ter Berg starting on the wings after recovering from their knocks.
Gilbert Webb would be a notable absence from the bench, as
Sølve Lunde and
Mateja Jeftić handled the defence.
Jeftić would be handed an opportunity to turn the game soon enough, even as the commentators mused on how this first-ever meeting between the sides would progress. There were shades of the game against -= Manchester United =- as the hosts sought to impose their own will, but their roll of the dice would go bad, as they found themselves woefully unprepared to deal with a concentrated Grilled push up the middle. Joël Bastien found himself making up the numbers on defence, and perhaps forgot whose penalty area he was in, as he folded
Vikram Mudaliar over in a tussle for possession. A clear penalty, for which
Mateja Jeftić stepped up, and blasted past Ismaèl Caymaris.
That was Grilled in the lead with five minutes on the clock, and the rest of the first half would only reinforce the Birds' ascendancy, to the evident displeasure of the boisterous home faithful. 13 minutes in, it was 2-0 as Mudaliar exchanged flicks with Kalki on the left, before lifting it over Caymaris. There would then be a number of attempts on goal from the visitors in yellow, good and less so, with
Kalle ter Berg and
Chu Xin Lee managing particularly fine efforts.
Ter Berg would be booked in the 40th minute as he tried to come to grips with American wing star Stanton Smalley-Mace, but this would merely result in Grilled's third goal, as Kalki led a surge off Crypto Moon's botched quick restart. There would be an unplanned substitute for the clearly-delighted
Hilal Bakhtiar to make just before half-time, as
Teo Chuan Yong was left unable to walk properly after pulling his left hamstring, but there was
Moey Xin Seng more than ready to take over his duties.
Crypto Moon would fare a lot better in the second half than the first, and after Caymaris tipped Chu's volley over in the 49th minute, they reminded the audience of just why they had been positioned above Grilled Birds at the start of the day. Venezuelan playmaker Salvador Ramos had a penchant for inventiveness, which he indulged with a magnificent ball fron the right, towards his forward line.
Sølve Lunde was positioned entirely reasonably, but this came in just out of his range... and right where Joël Bastien wanted it. 3-1.
The hosts were flying now, what with the rain letting up too, and Zacharias Troch would nearly feed Bastien for another goal ten minutes later, as he dominated the now-subdued
Kalle ter Berg down his wing. A second goal would arrive for Crypto Moon in the 78th minute as they made their most of their width, and Stanton Smalley-Mace would find Ken Takasaki's late run, as he had done so often before.
Jānis Salmiņš would come out by the book, but Takasaki's finish was flawless.
A reversal seemed possibly on the cards, as the home fans stood all but as one to call for it, but these dreams would be cruelly dashed by Grilled within minutes.
Kalki Parvathaneni would be the villian for the home support here, as he took Ralph van Elven on in the 81st minute, with the Birds wary of committing men unnecessarily. There remained
Moey Xin Seng going up for it, however, and that proved more than enough, as Kalki's cross bent in at the right height for Moey to jump onto.
The Birds wanted to make doubly sure, and they succeeded on their next possession, with Crypto Moon now desperate to catch back up. The hosts' inexperienced showed as they found themselves entirely disjointed between defence and attack, and
Chan Ze Han would eagerly hustle Pânzari out of the ball, as the Crypto Moon captain was forced to retreat under heavy pressure.
Salah Kamel would be ready to take advantage, for 5-2 Grilled.
