Chan Joins In On Fun
Marzuki Decider
Seven-time Hong Kong Cup winners and five-time league champions Connie_chiwah HoHoFun were the visitors at The Cooking Pot today, and a mostly-reserve Grilled lineup played well above themselves, to claim a worthy victory. Over six thousand curious had turned up for the exhibition, no doubt largely drawn by HoHoFun's reputation - and they were not shortchanged.
HoHoFun might not have added to their eye-watering haul of major trophies for a while, with a frustrating streak of four runners-up finishes in the 1st Division League not too long ago, but they remain doubtlessly one of the territory's top few clubs - with only Love Mimi Football Club ahead of them in the top flight historical points stakes. Even their second team was chock-full of exciting talent, what with former Bahraini international striker Ammar Al-shamlan starting, along with unfathomable Italian right winger Fabio Garra.
In contrast, the Birds felt positively lightweight, with the 22 year-old
Aw Keng Chuan arguably the biggest name they offered, anchoring the team in defence today.
Teo Chuan Yong would not be risked, as
José Luiz Velho stood in for him in attack. The gap in prestige was not quite as pronounced on the pitch, that said, though HoHoFun did put together the first real chance, as native forward Choi Kaisheng dropped a clever lob just behind the bar in the 14th minute, after spotting
Manuel Vadalà a ways off his line.
The Birds had to go wide to find space against HoHoFun's early pressing, and
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan got a good run in against Giancarlo Turchetto several minutes later, playing
José Luiz Velho into the hole. The final cross, while dropped by want-away Finnish goalie Joona Saarelainen, would be turned into a direct counterattack down the middle however, and Wong Xude did his first-team hopes no harm with a collected finish.
Grilled would raise their game in response, which heartened the home faithful, and it would be some of their bit-parters who excelled as they entered overdrive.
Chad Thach played a speculative through pass on for
Yee Jian Hui in the 32nd minute, and despite the spin taking him away from goal, Yee would somehow manage to smash it home at the near post. Three minutes on,
José Luiz Velho marched up to take a penalty after Rafael Lario Oñate was called for a trip in the box, and he would put it dangerously close to the left post, high in the corner for 2-1.
That was some turnaround against an arguably superior team, but the lead would last all of two minutes, as HoHoFun were too good to be kept down for long. The midfield battle was dynamic to say the least, with neither set of grafters having enough presence to swing it decisively, and young Ting Yongzhuo had his moment with a strong charge that took him well inside.
Atang Mangoye came up with the tackle, but only to Maciej Krzeszowski, who banged it past
Manuel Vadalà before he could move.
Lim An Keng and
Chia Kwang Tse would take over at half-time in the Grilled engine room, and their mutual coordination was soon manifest, as they tipped the game more and more towards the Birds. Wong would be led into a rash late tackle on Chia in the 62nd minute, for which he was booked, and German head coach Daniel Duvensee took the opportunity to introduce Kjell Solsvik for Turchetto. The free-kick was long and fittingly ran free to Chia, who unfortunately lost his footing right before making contact with the ball.
Tian happened to be readying a substitute too, and a huge cheer would go up around the gallery as
Chan Ze Han jogged on for Velho, for his first appearance in a month. His right ankle remained ominously taped up, however, but if the fans were concerned that it would negatively impact his mobility, they would soon be reassured. Chan's dexterity would remain as possessing as always as he dodged his way up the left, but his strike after cutting inside would be just a bit too high.
The friendly would die down after that as the teams appeared wary of leaving each other a fatal opening, and the visitors seemed only too happy to have it go into extra time, with Duvensee having a wealth of star power to call upon. Latvian forward Dailis Rūpnieks had to be an upgrade on Choi, as was Paco Rodríguez for Ting Yongzhuo.
That did not translate into an advantage for them, against all expectations, as Grilled caught a second wind.
Mohd Marzuki Khairul had been steady if not dominating, whether in the middle or after having been shifted to the right for the second half, but there was no mistaking his raw ability as he took the ball past two men, in the 98th minute. Saarelainen rushed him without undue delay, but Marzuki got the opening correct, and passed the ball into the far corner.
It was not quite over yet, with HoHoFun unwilling to just let the scoreline stand, but their composure in passing didn't quite match their desire. Tim Renningen and then Miguel Quintonahuel got booked one after the other following a particularly brutal midfield melee, and it was Chan to deal out the only real chance of th period, which again went high.
Yee Jian Hui then picked up Grilled's only card of the match, in taking Rodríguez down.
