Nigma Indignity
Pruzzi Potence
Any illusions of the Birds' competence against the cream of Division Three - without going into clubs from the second division and higher yet - were shattered today, as TeamNigma absolutely destroyed Grilled's current offerings at the Black Hole this morning. The Birds couldn't even use the weather as an excuse either, with it being about the perfect day for some football, and a solid defence would be enough for the hosts to turn a slight possession advantage, into a spanking.
Tian Yonghang had expressed hope that the team would be able to better their 0-4 at home, and that did look at least a possibility, for the first twenty minutes or so. The fans had come out in force with TeamNigma able to confirm the title with a win coupled with a LKS FC slip, and they had sailed through their previous fixtures so easily that none could fault Gwendolin Rutschi for not strengthening his squad further. Italian Number Seven Vittorio Pruzzi had to be one of his success stories, as the left winger showed up right on time for Maoz Hasar's long cross in the 13th minute, to flip it in after climbing above
Bhavya Panigrahi.
Grilled would answer in kind through their own left flankman
Paulino Trindade, who had wrested his starting spot back from
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan. Trindade would equalize in the twentieth minute as
Chan Ze Han completed a subtle pass under pressure, but that wasn't to last as Zach Lee elbowed TeamNigma back in front, two minutes on. A gulf then opened between the teams as TeamNigma cycled far more efficiently between defence and attack, leading to Maksym Vepric making it 3-1 after 35 minutes, as he rode a snazzy flow of passes.
Trindade continued to be one of the Birds' best hopes on the front foot, with Hasar and Knesebeck inexplicably unable to contain him when he got going, but his brilliant 37th minute hanging cross to
Lim An Keng would be calmly gathered by Božo Srbić. TeamNigma gave as good as they got in the air, as Tom Winna rose highest as Hasar delivered again, some four minutes later.
The home supporters were cheering as though they had won the league at half-time, which they in all probability had;
Chia Kwang Tse's entry for
Chad Thach at half-time didn't seem destined to make much of a difference, but it did help to stabilize the match for the next thirty minutes or so. Of course, TeamNigma having a three-goal cushion likely helped as much as anything else.
There appeared an unspoken signal to cut loose as the match entered its final twenty minutes, with Grilled unable to make much headway even against relative passivity anyhow. Chan's lack of match fitness might have had a lot to do with that, and the Birds in general looked in bad shape compared to their opponents, who unleashed the floodgates down the left. Pruzzi and Lai Feng Boon scored one after the other, leading into
Moey Xin Seng's departure for
Bilal Mohammad Harun, with fifteen minutes left.
That didn't slow TeamNigma any, although Lai would eventually need a brief stoppage, to have a slight groin concern looked at. Chan would hold the armband for less than five minutes before he himself was taken off for
Gandhik Chitre, which left Bilal with the unwanted responsibility to seeing the collapse through.
Winna would stick the dagger in as he broke through for TeamNigma's third goal from the left side in the second half, in the 82nd minute. That certainly didn't reflect well on the 37 year-old
Bhavya Panigrahi's diminishing defensive powers, and Chia didn't cover himself in glory either, with a rather stilted dive. Solaiman Hajjar would up the scoreline to 8-1 in injury time, with Lai Feng Boon then booked for some quite unnecessary backtalk.
