Man & Pony Show
With his four goals today,
Chan Ze Han vaulted over the Tonners' Tan Tse Kok and the Merlions' Mircea-Sorin Căruntu, to head up the league Golden Boot charts on seven goals. The 34 year-old has won about every domestic club honour of note with the Birds, but a scoring title has yet eluded him - which has led to fervent comparisons with Moey's own sunset achievement.
Chan would not be drawn into such speculation yet. "It's not something I really think about - I'm just hoping to get this team back to the S-League, maybe even a cup or two, before I retire." he commented. "Today was a good result against a team doing their best, that's all there is to it."
The big win wasn't enough for Grilled to break into the top half of the table, as Merlion F.C. and LKS FC likewise swept their hapless foes, 7-0 and 6-0 respectively. typers would suffer particularly against the Merlions, with Sylvain van den Heuvel sent off after half an hour, and no less than three players injured. Oliver Sand was worst off with a serious strain in his right calf in the 20th minute, which may see him out for a fortnight.
HEBFC Tonners FC edged Mayuyu AKB48 in the only competitive match of the round, with Lucas Wauquier opening for Mayuyu in the 38th minute, only for Erik Nápoles to equalize straightaway following great holding play by Myron Lam up the right. Michal Balkovič's 62nd minute header would prove decisive as the Tonners rose to second place, just a single point behind LKS FC.
Farmer Bunnies could only manage a two-all draw against Mangrove Pittas, which however had to be regarded as a more than credible result against the erstwhile leaders, who fell behind Really McCoys after dropping points.
Guan Ming Kum and
Vitaliy Efendiev had the Buns well on the way to a memorable victory as the Buns exploited dead balls for all they were worth, but Croatian hotshot Bogdan Kocić dragged his side back into it. The mammoth defensive effort also saw three Buns players booked, and
Lee Yau Tong out for a bit due to a knock to his knee.
The McCoys didn't seem too challenged against Forever Black Plum, and ground out a 2-0 comfortably enough. WhiteSandsMechs had some luck in front of goal as they tamed Brighton UK by the same margin, while Zibaye_Khofteh got off the basement with a 3-0 over The EV, for their first points of the campaign.
In Grilled International's case, there would be six against Austrian part-timers Ponyhof, with both
Sazwan bin Hj Muhd Salleh and
Chua Jun Long managing braces, as want-away
Hardi bin Besar was dropped to the wing.
Redhuan bin Mohd Aleshahfezan closed the scoring with a memorable dink, while
Safari bin Hj Jali leathered it in time added on, but had it diverted by Ponyhof goalie Johann Pfleger.
This win sees International go third with Ortega&Cabrerizo and Twisted Bliss both recording five-nils to stay ahead, but with O&C declaring that they are entering administration too, Bliss will be International's only true competition for the season. "It's a bit of a downer, but not unwelcome for a rebuilding side." gaffer
Didi Reidenbach noted.