Far From Good Enough
Foong Haunting
What had been advertised as the greatest duel in III.1 for the year would transpire to be a lopsided slaughter, as Phantasm Hotspurs routed a disappointing Birds selection 6-0 on home ground, to all but confirm the title. 31 year-old wingman Foong Seng Wee came up with only the second hat-trick of his career, as Grilled took to a compact formation in an attempt to tilt the balance in possession - which went very badly for them.
With both Yee Tse Tong and
Tian Yonghang having full squads to pick from, this looked set to be one of the classics, but the weather gods thought otherwise; after days of blazing sun, a surprise rainstorm would descend overnight, and had not let up by kick-off. There was in fact some consideration towards rescheduling the fixture, but Latvian referee Aldis Indulēns eventually received the go-ahead from league management, which saw Masyhur Zulfadhli tap the ball back to Prince Huang, to get the event going.
Phantasm had not conceded since Reid Shim put one past them in a 1-5 loss three weeks ago, and Yee was taking no chances today, as they set up in a 4-5-1 with Zulfadhli as lone striker. This turned out to be a tactical masterstroke, as the limitations of Grilled's less-than-outstanding forward line was soon exposed, not helped by either the weather or Tian having set them up to operate from closer to midfield. The reduced distance would help
Lim An Keng and company get the ball to them some, but at the cost of barely engaging Sidqi Ghani in the Hotspurs goalmouth.
Hotspurs definitely knew what they were doing, and if the above boosts were not enough, they would soon see the Birds' greatest weapon blunted. Their captain Eng Chi Wei would hold nothing back as he went full tilt into a shoulder charge against Chan in the 19th minute, and it was of such intensity that despite it looking entirely legal in execution from the replays, Eng would still be booked by Indulēns for the application of unnecessary force. It certainly had a lingering impact on Chan, though, who had to get himself bandaged up on the sidelines.
Grilled would concede their first when down to ten men temporarily, as Hotspurs had no compunctions at all in leveraging an extra body up top. For once, they would overload their right wing, and Kwek Rong Wei came from behind Eng to knock it past Germanakos. It was a similar story about eleven minutes later, if from the other wing, as Foong Seng Wee punished the Birds' lack of proper presence out wide. This had several Grilled players look meaningfully towards Tian for guidance, which was not forthcoming.
It could have been worse as an unintentional handball off Hutter had Hotspurs up for a penalty in the 38th minute, and the Birds were only saved by Lim Kang Woon hesitating at the last moment, and putting it wide after switching his target to the left post. There was no question of Grilled being able to expand their influence against their opponents' suffocating pressure, unfortunately, which saw both Ferzan and
Chia Kwang Tse forced into ineffective reactive roles. Germanakos had to be on his toes then in the 55th, when he headed Eng Chi Wei's lightning-fast counter with a courageous rush of his own.
Teo Chuan Yong was not seen as part of the solution as Tian threw
Orest Tokarz on for him in the 60th minute, but it would soon be evident that whatever the head coach was banking on, wasn't working. Any remaining hopes of a rally from 0-2 down were dashed as the seasoned Hotspurs side preyed on the Birds' growing impatience, and a neat sequence of lifted passes saw Foong clear and free in the 78th, upon which he overran Germanakos' effort at bridging the gap.
Given that a draw was of no practical use to Grilled, from the unassailable goal difference between the clubs, this more or less crushed the Birds' morale. They did manage to put together an interesting 82nd minute foray, that however ended with
Chan Ze Han belatedly floating it well wide, after his forwards were all tracked on their preceding runs. Another fast break had Cheong Leong Kiong carded for a dive, but this did not stop Hotspurs for long, as a return down the left saw Masyhur Zulfadhli squeeze a fourth in.
Tian was not able to risk Chan on a lost cause for any longer, and
Kalki Parvathaneni's entry would birth Grilled's best chance of the day... which
Chad Thach sadly rolled right to Sidqi Ghani, and which was sent back for a fifth by Eng Chi Wei. Prince Huang would be carted off for a busted right ankle after overstretching for the assist, but that would not dampen the euphoric mood of the crowd, all the more when Foong Seng Wee converted a last-minute cross for his treble.
