Robbie Rematch
This semifinals wouldn't provide much tension after the first half, but
Chu Xin Lee was careful to give Ang Mohs their fair due. "It could have gone either way after that Stefančič equalizer. We were fortunate to nip their revival in the bud then. Mokhtar was a pillar throughout, and had they more possession, he would have been markedly more dangerous."
Grilled Birds will play Robbie Football Club twice in five days, as RFC got into the Emerald Challenger Cup finals by edging the high-flying Villains. They were perhaps fortunately to earn a penalty due to unintentional handball in the eighth minute, and defended their lead for all their worth, after Pier Giuseppe Licciardello's conversion. Pierre Laurent took the game to extra time with five minutes remaining, but Jens Petur Jakobsen would snipe Zvjezdan Ražić barely two minutes in, to book their passage.
The Birds have, of course, just eaten a 1-2 away defeat to Robbie Football Club a couple of weeks ago, but
Hilal Bakhtiar drew strength from the club's fine historical record against them. "We're riding a series of some pretty solid wins now, and if that means we have rediscovered the scoring formula, we can take on any local opposition in my view."
They will have to do it without
Bilal Mohammad Harun, sadly, as the 33 year-old will be out for at least a month. In fact, club doctors had warned him against playing with his thigh concern only partially healed, but he insisted on being available for selection, and is now paying the price. "Just as well that I have the full set already, then." he quipped. "But honestly, I would make the same choice if it was presented to me again."
The Buns welcomed Bangladeshi II.3 side Barcelona Bengalí to Carrot Field for a friendly, and the former Bangladesh Consolation Cup winners would run out 2-0 winners from set pieces. As with RFC, Bengalí won a dubious penalty in the first half, and Spanish veteran Alberto Carrillo would get one over
Gabriel Luke in a battle of nerves. Homegrown fullback Mozahar Chowdhury then nodded a corner in soon after the second half started, and Luke would have to retire with a strained hamstring towards the end, as the teams made their final blitzes.
Carrillo would otherwise largely be contained by
Lim Su Liang and
Sunil Patel, and
Dalibor Kostadinović concurred that the local pair were developing nicely. "They cover for each other almost automatically. It's nice to see."
Grilled International's own friendly would end 3-2 against Scottish IV.60 visitors Come on the hoops, in a match that had its action near-wholly compressed within the final ten minutes. The Hoops would put up a number of counters after
Hardi bin Besar's excellent fifteenth minute strike to the top corner, but none came off until Leon Croxo in the 82nd. Lee L'Isle would be sent off for a second yellow as they chased the result with renewed belief, which had
Wang Chu Chi and
Chua Jun Long take advantage to make it 3-1 by the 88th.
That didn't keep Tommy Mannion from threatening a draw, as he raced through unopposed on the break as International greedily overcommitted themselves on a
Tibor Atzenhain free-kick delivery. In the end, it would take a second dismissal to put the Hoops down for good, as Raivo Lehepuu followed L'Isle off in the aftermath of
Wang Chu Chi's extended attacking dribble.
Wang Hanxuan had been caught badly on his left knee, but fortunately, no lasting damage had been done.
