Rebirth In Agony
Roughed Out
It was a costly three points earned at Winnetou Reborn, with the Birds losing not one, not two but three men, to their tender mercies. This had Grilled Birds end the match with just nine players on the pitch, with old soldier
Gilbert Webb in particular contemplating retirement, after having his left ankle crumple under him.
Coming off a 1-4 loss to HEBFC Tonners FC, Winnetou were eager to get back on track, according to their Swiss boss Edmond Baumgarten. There would be no changes on the pitch, however, with Baumgarten again pinning his hopes on Artur Sá and Fabio Di Brandimarte being able to hold the fort in midfield, as he persisted with an attacking wide 2-5-3. The Birds could hardly decline the open invitation to test Czech goalie Martin Křovina, and
Chan Ze Han would pull through from the right wing in the 13th minute, only to have his fierce drive blocked reflexively.
That would lead to the first yellow card of the game, as Chuck Pak wrestled a little too aggressively with
Paulino Trindade in trying to keep the ball from going behind, but that would be nothing compared to what came next. Young Winnetou striker Peh Xin Jun didn't appear to be looking as he launched himself into a challenge for the ball with
Gilbert Webb half-turned away, and he ended up crushing Webb's ankle between his feet. It might well have been a red, but Italian referee Matteo Martelli was inclined to be lenient, even as Webb had to be administered oxygen on the field.
Damian Hutter would be the natural replacement, but the Austrian understudy was evidently not deemed ready to make his competitive debut for the Birds yet, having not even been named to the bench.
Bilal Mohammad Harun was the next choice, and was duly partly at fault for Winnetou's goal in the 30th minute, as he lost Victor Blackman. Bilal would make amends just four minutes later, rising majestically to tip a corner kick towards
Chan Ze Han, who wouldn't miss this time.
One-all would be the scoreline at half-time, with Fabio Di Brandimarte becoming the third fellow from the hosts to be carded, this occuring in the 38th minute for repeated hassling of
Enrique Baena as the latter tried to retrieve the ball for a throw-in. Winnetou's rough-and-tumble style wasn't doing too badly in maintaining competitiveness, to be frank, and the Birds didn't look shoo-ins for the win at this point.
Tian Yonghang would resurrect the Wings' Lim-Chia partnership as he went against rote in withdrawing
Chad Thach for Chia instead, and that little bit of extra coordination might have tipped it for Grilled; they would pass it about midfield with an easy understanding, with Chia sending it almost casually straight ahead for
Kalki Parvathaneni to chase. This was Kalki in his element as he held off Evgeniy Gladilov desperately trying to make up ground, before slipping Grilled's go-ahead goal under Křovina.
Kalki wouldn't be on the pitch for much longer, as he would be replaced by
Moey Xin Seng for the final twenty minutes, which was also Grilled's third and last available substitution. They would have cause to regret that tactical switch almost immediately, as
Bilal Mohammad Harun was barged down by Adrian Joo, as he advanced together with
Bhavya Panigrahi in a move that ended with the ball buried in the side netting. Martelli would pull the play back and book Joo, but Bilal would remain sitting at the sidelines for the remainder of the game, leaving the Birds a man short.
Well, Moey had something to say - or rather do - about that, as he duly scored from the resulting free-kick, making this his third league goal of the campaign despite his limited time in action. That allowed Grilled Birds to breathe a lot more easily as they awaited the final whistle, but there would be one last misfortune in store for them.
Chan Ze Han would follow
Chia Kwang Tse's lob, as was his habit, and came within inches of turning the rebound into goal. He couldn't quite stretch far enough, sadly, and would end up having to be carried off too, after ruining his right ankle.
