Ultra Blow
Dessì Desserts
In a bad omen for their upcoming qualification match, Grilled Birds were bundled out of the Champions League tournament in the first knockout stages. Italian Division Five side Ultras Aziz might be said to have rode their luck to an extent, but the Birds would have only themselves to blame, coming back from two down only to lose it to Massimo Dessì's trickiness.
The Birds weren't passive with their next mission in mind, and
Chow Ying Lee fired the first salvo, a dipping shot that tested Bo Lönnstrand. Actually, Grilled appeared to have it under their thumbs, at least until the Ultras earned their first corner from Gene Fillipone's safety-first approach in the 16th minute. It ended up an easy score for Spanish fullback Saúl Coello, after nobody bothered to pick up his approach from the side.
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim was set to correct that a couple of minutes later, after
Tian Yonghang had sent him clear with a delayed cutback behind Chow's decoy run. This was the kind of standard set-up that Mohd Safri had built his name on, but Torben Luca Nömers' breathing down his neck was enough to throw him off this time, which he responded to by kicking a divot in frustration.
Ultras Aziz didn't make too many openings, but they did ensure that they counted. On a rare attack that
Clément Meyer forestalled in the 36th minute, the Frenchman then inexplicably slipped as he wound up for a pass, allowing Massimo Dessì to slickly nick it and round
Wong Tian Han.
Tian Yonghang did at least prevent the first half from being an utter disaster with his calm finish in a crowded penalty area soon after.
The Grilled bench didn't look overly worried, and they in fact had good reason not to be, since they were the ones constantly knocking on the door. A short rest only reinforced the balance of power, and although a lack of prowess in front of goal, as well as Lönnstrand's good anticipation, kept Ultras Aziz ahead until the 55th minute,
Lee Lee Hao would flick in a header from
Low Aik Jia's accurate delivery then.
It was just what the Birds deserved, but they failed to build on that, with Mohd Safri a particular culprit. Still, it didn't look an issue as the Birds were creating with regularity... up until Dessì demonstrated incredible efficiency with his sharp half-volley off Almantas Korpovičius's inside pass, his second goal from as many attempts.
Hungarian midfielder Kevin Gyucha then caught
Wong Tian Han out with a long shot, which a goalie of his calibre ought to have been ashamed of - and he was. That said, Wong remained fortunate that Giovanni Roekens' legitimately world-class effort a few minutes later was slightly off, since it would have been unsaveable otherwise.
Grilled made a none too valiant go at rallying back, as the Ultras began to eat away the minutes, which got Miloš Ćurčić booked for all too obvious time-wasting. Their tactic worked ultimately as it limited the Birds to a single blocked shot from
Tian Yonghang, and although
Rinor Isufi hustled tremendously after being designated supersub, there was no saving this one.
