My Flat Track
Seah Single
In-administration MyTeamName expectedly shipped ten goals to Grilled Birds, but the full house of twelve thousand die-hards that turned up were all ga-ga at 25 year-old walk-on Seah Jun Yi's lone strike of defiance in the 17th minute. It didn't matter that the Birds were already three up by then, by and large from
Chan Ze Han making a very loud reappearance; what was important that it could very well have been one of them in the stands that did the deed, one imagines.
With their biggest achievement before today being a 1-1 draw against fellow struggles KickzFC a couple of months ago in the third round of fixtures, there wasn't much MyTeamName could hold on to, as they prepared to host the Birds today. Sure, they came somewhat close before going 2-3 down to Offshore Haven three weeks past, but that was followed by a solid 4-0 by Haven at home, before Controlar's 9-0 steamrolling. 31 year-old captain Chan Chao Tong gamely admitted that they were mostly there for the experience, with the club's former salaried players having been disbanded recently.
Considering this,
Tian Yonghang continuing with his pairing of
Phua Ming Xin with
Chan Ze Han didn't seem too risky, though with Chan reverting to a secondary role on the left this time.
Radovan Jaška would also start for the first time in a long while, with
Aw Keng Chuan back in defensive midfield alongside Hwang and Marzuki, and
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan entirely out due to reported form issues. None of that had too much of a bearing on how the match would go, frankly, as
Gandhik Chitre drilled it past an immobile Hung Kuan Guang with his first touch, in the second minute of play.
It was not all glory for Chitre, who would be booked four minutes later as his thirst for a second had him take a fairly unconvincing tumble over Faizal Dahari's extended leg.
Chan Ze Han would come into his own from there, as he thrived with more space than usual in his left-sided position.
Enrique Baena gave his marker the slip to assist Chan for the second in the ninth minute, and when a legit penalty was given for an unwitting handball inside the box after 16 minutes, Chan would be there to bang it into the top left corner on automatic.
And then, the moment that the home fans had been waiting for. With their other league goals having come against Offshore Haven and KickzFC, neglecting Ravikumar Damodar's stunning opener in that 1-8 against Grilled in the reverse fixture, any goal had to be as nectar from the gods for their supporters. Well, Dahari would have them on their feet as he was left with the ball from a chaotic corner, which had nearly the full MyTeamName side in the penalty area under the knowledge that there would likely be no better opportunity.
Manuel Vadalà would put up a weak block, but it went to Seah Jun Yi, whose barest touch was enough.
That had the match stopped for a minute as the home fans celebrated, and not even two more by the Birds soon after the restart could dampen their joy. Indeed, the strong euphoria was probably why
Federico Parada managed to slide onto Marzuki's through pass unimpeded in the 19th minute, and also why Chitre could now skip past a not-all-there Dahari a minute later - not that the hosts appeared to mind too much.
Chan would eventually get his teammates back in line, and this combined with some excellent anticipation from Hung Kuan Guang, would have MyTeamName get to half-time without having their goal breached again. This tenacity would also be in evidence as they resumed their heavy pressing in the second half, which had
Enrique Baena teased into a late challenge on Choi Su Boon in the 56th, for an obvious yellow card. MyTeamName committed too many men for the long free-kick, however, and
Damian Hutter would profit against their now-scattered backline, on the counter.
Grilled were not looking especially motivated as they were content with stroking the ball about at half-pace about now, which suited the hosts just fine too.
Tian Yonghang would finally signal for his players to get on with it with about fifteen minutes remaining, judging that MyTeamName were suitably exhausted. If so, his guess proved prescient, as Baena breezed through on the left encountering next to no serious opposition in the 77th minute, for a finish close-up for 7-1.
There would then be a concerning accident 81 minutes in, as MyTeamName were caught up in defence, against the Birds' unrelenting siege.
Federico Parada sent a hybrid cross-shot towards the near post then, and with
Gandhik Chitre breathing down his neck, midfielder Adam Choi bravely leapt forward to clear... only to fly uncontrollably face-first into the post. His nosebleed was unmistakeably authentic, and Honduran referee Mario Gomes instantly called the game to a halt, with the medics already sprinting there. In the end, it was not as bad as it looked, but MyTeamName would nevertheless replace Choi with Shohei Hirose as a precaution. The Birds would sportingly give up the corner, not that it was too much of a sacrifice.
Indeed, the Birds would get their three more goals to reach ten anyway, starting with
Phua Ming Xin's foray through the left. Phua had been easily overshadowed by Chan after the latter's early brace, and he would finally take the coaches' admonition towards more selfishness to heart late on here. It didn't even take a minute for Chan to reclaim the limelight, though, as he completed his hat-trick - and one more - before departing via a mutual high-five with
Moey Xin Seng, in a double substitution that also saw
Gilbert Webb on for
Radovan Jaška.
