Saurused Lit Up
Marzuki Mesmerizes
Estonian III.14 side Lelle HK "Saurused" would request the Birds for a friendly game at KureNiidu, and they were obliged with a quite sincere effort from Grilled's reserves. Ülo Põld would earn his debut the hard way alongside fellow academy products Illimar Sipelgas and Keio Nõmme in midfield, as they were swept aside by their buoyant Birds counterparts.
Mohd Marzuki Khairul crowned a MOTM-worthy display with a magnificent opening goal, with
Hwang Teck Fu supplying the insurance in the second half.
Chad Thach would do double duty as Grilled's main forward today, and he would start out flying, likely jazzed by the national U-20 setup's interest in him. Saurused would put the real stuff on him in the form of captain Deivi Vasik, however, which had the Birds needing to be more subtle in pursuing the offensive, despite their obvious possessional advantage. The two Meelises - Mahlapuu on the right and Paju on the left - were however not as obdurate on the wings despite their own attacking flair, which led most of the Birds' chances to develop from wide.
This included the first shot on target for the day, which came through Hwang in just the fourth minute on a physical charge from the right side. Marko Danilson barely blocked it, but the good goalkeeper would have nothing on Grilled's next big opportunity. This had Marzuki considering his options while lingering on the ball near the left edge of their penalty area in the 21st minute, only to punish the Saurused defence for standing off him with an immaculately-placed drive.
A gliding free-kick from
Radovan Jaška would swing a yard wide a couple of minutes on, and the hosts would finally raise some temperatures in front of the Grilled goalmouth too, 32 minutes in. Hendrik Kottise fooled
Chia Kwang Tse with an outrageous feint then, but also threw himself off enough that
Manuel Vadalà could rush to collect the ball, before he could recover fully. Chia's day would go from bad to worse as he got booked for petulance after failing to reach a rebound off
Gandhik Chitre's strike in the 37th minute, and he would be subbed off for
Lim An Keng at half-time.
That probably didn't have anything to do with Chia's contribution actually, but it was undeniable that Lim's inclusion on the right - shifting Hwang inside - would make a huge positive impact on the Birds. Hwang would start off strongly as he had the first half, but he would not miss this time, as he connected solidly with
Paulino Trindade's scrambled cross within two minutes of the restart.
Hwang might even have had a hat-trick had he taken his time on
Prokop Mottl's tantalizing reverse ball next, but he took it first time, and flubbed the shot. There would be plenty of chances to make up for it, however, with Grilled absolutely battering Saurused's right defence, and it was a wonder that they added only one more - from another lashed Hwang finish in the 54th minute.
José Luiz Velho made a celebrated return to play some three weeks after his head concern, although he would not catch many looks with a somewhat subdued style. It was left to
Chad Thach to get a penalty with a mazy dribble inside, but
Radovan Jaška disappointed with an altogether too casual take, that went acres over the bar.
