Holding The Hat
Aw Dishes Pain
The Birds' preparations for Wednesday's Sapphire Challenge Cup semifinals went off without a hitch, as they smashed visitors tpyers 7-1, to make it five straight wins against the Holland Village club. A 25 year-old
Aw Keng Chuan moreover registered his maiden professional hat-trick, as he stormed ahead with an eagerness and intensity belying his nominal defensive midfield role.
It had not been a great stretch for tpyers either, with league losses to Controlar and Good Luck FC coming after a Consolation Cup knockout by Team Boba. Kwok Boon Yeow had claimed their only goal in those three matches while letting in eleven in return, a state of affairs that has had young head coach Yeo Kian Kiong scratching his head. Goalkeeping has certainly been an area that he is eager to address, with Italian emigre Antonio Ramenghini hardly burnishing his nation's reputation for the position, and pundits would raise the contribution of midfielders Ng Han How and Derek Dizon as essential in getting a result today.
Alas for tpyers, such hopes would be dashed with hardly three minutes on the clock, as they capitulated to an avoidable, if minor, mistake. Serbian leftback Zsolt Sajtos's pass back to his goalie might have been a little loose, but he would probably have gotten away with it nine times out of ten. What he didn't count on was
Enrique Baena expecting it and accelerating almost before he had released the ball, and the Spanish winger won his gamble by getting the critical toepoke in before Ramenghini could reach it.
It was to be the start of a very busy shift for Ramenghini, who would be called into action against the lurking
Phua Ming Xin another three minutes on, and succeeded in batting the lashed strike aside. Grilled's top gunslinger today would have another - extremely unexpected - identity, though, if not yet fully revealed when
Aw Keng Chuan found himself left alone with the ball in the middle of the box, in the 13th minute. That the tpyers defenders had all identified supposedly more-dangerous targets was their undoing, as Aw proved himself perfectly capable of finding the right bottom corner from his spot.
That was two, and if tpyers still harboured thoughts of rescuing this game, they would be wholly dispelled by a rapid-fire Aw one-two about the 33rd minute.
Ibnou Balde's not connecting with
Enrique Baena's cross turned out to be Aw's gain as he only had to put his head in the right place with Ramenghini committed, and it would then be his first hat-trick in 82 Grilled starts, basically by being in the correct place. Amidst the giddy atmosphere, Derek Dizon came close to spoiling the party four minutes on, but Jeppe Svold's ball was overhit just a bit.
Tian Yonghang would again rest
Atang Mangoye at half-time with
Hwang Teck Fu getting the captaincy for the second half, and
Aw Keng Chuan the free-kick responsibilities, as soon became evident when referee Finn Essen awarded one - to a huge cheer from the home fans. Aw had expended his scoring powers, so it seemed as his take vanished into the gallery, and it was instead
Phua Ming Xin who picked up where he left off, in nicking
Paulino Trindade's subtle short cross home at the near post, in the 61st minute.
Chad Thach nearly took advantage of tpyers' panic after conceding once again, but Ben Ishikawa came up with the goalline block there, as
Gandhik Chitre got a glancing touch on the cross. It never got much easier for the visitors, who had to stay on their toes against a Birds attack eager to run up the score. Danish winger Jeppe Svold took one for his team in stopping Baena in the 73rd minute, for which he finally got carded, which sadly for him did not stop Chitre from putting the free-kick in, albeit after it had been switched to the left flank.
That was six for the Birds, which became 6-1 in the 77th minute, as Foster Ito got through Grilled's flat backline following some complacent defending, which
Dimitris Germanakos took quite badly. Germanakos' mood was not improved when his defenders let him down again in the 84th, leaving him to face Yeoh Jing De alone, although he did have the reflexes to knock that one about the post. Oldies Bilal and Kalki would make an appearance in the final minute, right on cue to watch
Enrique Baena dazzle inside for a seventh in injury time.
