Dino For Deinos
Abd Hadi Setback
With Grilled's transition to the new generation mostly done, Club Dinosauria didn't have it too hard in mustering a 3-1 home win over them even with a conservative approach, as wingback Dino Biliotti was unleashed. It would moreover be a downer for
Abd Hadi Taib Mazhud, whose attractiveness to suitors may have taken a blow, after a thigh flare-up that will see him sit out the off-season.
This was a very different Birds lineup to that which had blown Deinos away by seven goals at the beginning of this season, to say the least, and with Kalki Parvathaneni also departed for Tampines Phoenix F.C., this had
Teo Chuan Yong in the very unfamiliar position of left forward. He would actually not be too bad at it, in the possessive sense, but it had to be admitted that the entire Grilled midfield - including Chu and Bilal wide - was a work in progress.
They were simply, and expectedly, entirely outmatched by the likes of Che Zambil Ridwan and Chew Long Hock, who only had to bide their time and await mistakes, or so it appeared. They wouldn't have to wait long for
Chia Kwang Tse to pass it straight at Chew, who in turn merely had to wait for the calvary to arrive, with Biliotti overlapping past Chu with great vigour. German striker Lech Tarkowski pulled back intelligently and made himself available for the short pass, which he proceeded to plant straight to
Manuel Vadalà's top corner.
The Grilled goalkeeper couldn't be blamed for that, and in other case had other worries to contend with. This Birds side would be especially weak down the flanks, with their wide players frequently having to come inside to bail their less-experienced teammates out, and the Deinos players were too good not to exploit this failing. 25 minutes in, it was Fabián Usel's turn to drive strongly up the left... and Biliotti's to come up with the finish, from the other flank.
Given so few chances coming their way, the Birds could hardly afford to waste them, as Teo doubtless knew when
Aw Keng Chuan slipped it through to him in the 34th minute, and Cheah Eng Dong - who had been at his back the whole time - unexpectedly lost his footing. Teo's competent if unimaginative strike would be parried by Radovan Pěnkava, but only to
Bilal Mohammad Harun, who had followed up in expectation. Bilal got his foot underneath it, and it was 2-1.
Club Dinosauria would however get their own back in the very next minute, and it was again Biliotti with the assist, as Grilled struggled to project influence beyond their core.
Lau Chu Soon would be torn between covering the advancing Chew and confronting Biliotti, and settled on the former. There might have been no good choices, as the winger sent it high inside the box, where it came off Fokko Schlattmeier's shoulder, and just about past a scrambling Vadalà.
Referee Cosimo Benzinger confirmed the goal after a long wait, and with the hosts set on protecting their lead after this, the match would take a much more measured turn. Grilled were in no position to call the shots, with
Lim An Keng's arrival for Chia at half-time not really adding much. Worse,
Abd Hadi Taib Mazhud - perhaps their top attacking force - would sustain a recurrence of his thigh problem seven minutes into the half, and force
Prokop Mottl on.
This second swap did actually jolt the Birds into action for a bit, and their youngsters would flit about the boundaries of the Deinos penalty area with somewhat more conviction, if not exactly effectiveness. Lim did draw a foul by Schlattmeier on the edge of the box in the 65th, which had
Bhavya Panigrahi try to go around the wall with a low, cutting delivery. It nearly worked too, as Pěnkava watched it come off the outside of his far post.
Lau Chu Soon would be Grilled's final substitution, after another earnest but average outing in defence, with
Gilbert Webb arriving for the last twenty minutes. It would be mostly uneventful too, save for Ong Chao Ah's powerful effort just over in the 76th, and a slightly-spiteful tackle from Zachary Truong on
Moey Xin Seng, in injury time.
