Caribbean Sunset
Captain for the day
Chan Ze Han was in high spirits, as he thought back on the epic victory, after the fact. "Yes, everyone was thinking back to
that cup final afterwards, who wouldn't? Obviously, we were not going to follow the script blindly."
Hilal Bakhtiar would be credited by many for his game-turning substitution of
Salah Kamel, but the head coach himself would admit that he was mostly just rolling the dice then. "Ten minutes is a very short time to ask anything of the players. Still, Kamel did what was expected of him and more, but it could frankly have gone the other way as easily. I'm just glad at the fighting spirit that they showed."
"At least we knew that goals were very possible." Chan chipped in. "It's the Birds versus United, after all!"
Grilled's reward will be a quarterfinal against defending Cup holders Haha, who are moreover also flying high in the S-League, with nine out of a possible twelve points. As to what special tack the team would take against such difficult opponents, Bakhtiar made no indication at all.
It might however well be a sad end to Farmer Bunnies' Golden Generation at Arch Angel, as they went down quite tamely to III.2 side Caribbean Sky FC, with the 3-1 scoreline actually flattering them. While
Vishnu Tallapaka and
Kwek Yun Jie were available on the bench, the fact that
Dalibor Kostadinović did not once even seem to consider putting them on to attempt a rescue, had to be a sign that their time had well and truly passed.
Billy Camperio's consolation after
Christophe Fouche's likely career-ending knee injury could not disguise that fact. "Let's face it - they're pushing, if not over, forty." downcast Buns supporter Charlie Seet said. "That batch is over."
Grilled International remained in the mix in the H.I. Sapphire Challenger Cup, as they crushed Czech fourth divisioners FC Zvolský kurtizány by eight clear goals.
Safari bin Hj Jali claimed the fourth hat-trick of his career at last gasp, with a powerful old-fashioned heave five minutes from time, with
Wang Chu Chi and
Chua Jun Long getting two each too, after
Ragib Banović's seventh minute opener.
English IV.50 leaders Stratton are up next, and gaffer
Didi Reidenbach does not expect anywhere near as easy an outing. "There's still a very long way to go in this competition, the players should focus on gaining confidence."
