Union Penalized
Bilal Execution
Jordanian Al-Dawry Al-Momtaz club Unìon Italiana were hosted at The Cooking Pot today, and provided a stiff test before succumbing 3-4 in extra time. The Birds would not risk
Chan Ze Han with the star forward tasked with extra rehabilitation instead, but
Bilal Mohammad Harun would step in at half-time, and steer the Birds to victory in his stead.
Unìon Italiana, like Grilled, had suffered a weekend setback - against Al-Java F.C. in their case - which made this an opportunity for head coach Pancrazio Minieri to drill his 4-5-1 formation before the next league game. Chinese target man Bao Caiyang would start despite a right foot concern, with former Nicaraguan youth international Carlos Alberto Ortiz captaining the side from left wing, next to Cuban playmaker Roberto Marshall. Minieri would not leave himself out, as he tended goal for his chosen lineup.
Four minutes had not passed when Minieri had to pick the ball out of his own net, though, as the Birds worked their way forward with more graft than craft;
Chad Thach was particularly brutal in coming up against Marshall, who had apparently not expected that level of bloody-mindedness in a friendly.
José Luiz Velho was scarce more delicate as he clashed with Adel Salameh to get the shot off, and while weak it had enough on it to take it past Minieri.
Velho would be remarkably active in these exchanges, and had a hopeful lob drift just over the bar in the 25th minute.
Hwang Teck Fu then powered it into the side-netting a bit later, which also marked a switchover in the attacking momentum. There would be an escape for Grilled when Yasser Al-Khalidi fell over just inside the box in the 33rd, which the referee interpreted as a dive, while
Aw Keng Chuan uncharacteristically dawdled on the ball and showed far too much of it for Bao, two minutes on. The strike was fierce, but luckily directed straight at a grateful
Manuel Vadalà.
Vadalà could hardly catch a breather here as he would have to leap across goal to deny Roberto Marshall as the visitors rotated the ball right back to the other side of the box, but this was also the break that the Birds needed.
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan would be able to drive forward against a thinned-out Unìon Italiana right flank, and he kept his head up to spot
Yee Jian Hui calling for it as he made to run in behind the defence. It was 2-0, then, as Yee slipped it home.
As well as
José Luiz Velho and
Chad Thach had performed in the first half, they would have to come off for
Chia Kwang Tse and
Bilal Mohammad Harun for the second, as
Tian Yonghang strove to spread the minutes around. That didn't affect Grilled's cohesion much, but their opponents had also stabilized themselves fully by then. Not quite enough to prove a true threat to Vadalà's goal, perhaps, as an impatient Aden Yousif smashed into
Atang Mangoye from behind in the 68th minute, in an effort to get a header on. An easy yellow card for referee Amador Medina Muro to give, that one.
Unìon Italiana were growing in confidence as the creativity in Grilled's attacks began to get really stale, and they soon got a foot back in thanks to Ortiz. The Unìon skipper had been mostly stalled by Hwang and then Chitre, but he needed just one clear opening, to cleave a magnificent cross over to a waiting Bao in the 75th minute.
Mohd Marzuki Khairul tried to bravely put his body in the way, but the volley went straight and true to the far post and in.
It was then level three minutes later, with the Birds naively committing far too much of themselves to regain their two-goal cushion, only to fall prey to a counter down the left, finished off by Badreddine El-Araïchi.
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan, who probably thought himself responsible for that, would nearly make up for it with a determined solo dribble against the entire Unìon defence. Minieri appeared to take Ferzan out as he twisted past the last man, but the referee deemed the winger to be already falling by then.
Extra time it was then, after a nervy three minutes of stoppage time for the Birds, who had to weather a late Unìon assault. Their fortunes would turn sharply around after Tian's instruction, and another quick start off the blocks saw ex-Moroccan international Badreddine El-Araïchi booked for shirt-pulling Khairul after the youngster had gotten past him. The intensity would cumulate in a penalty nine minutes into the period, with
Hwang Teck Fu tripped in sidling in from the right.
Bilal Mohammad Harun slid it to the left post for 3-2.
Bilal would then win another penalty for himself, if a little unexpectedly after he got involved in a shoving match with Salah Mahdi. The visiting fans not unreasonably deemed Muro to be biased, but their whistling didn't bother Bilal, who slammed it hard down the centre this time. Roberto Marshall would keep things interesting as he answered immediately with Aden Yousif breaking up the right wing from the kick-off, but Grilled held on to take the win.
