48 To Sixes
Germanakos Tap
The Birds made it eleven wins in twelve competitive fixtures with their 6-2 away result at Mayuyu AKB48, which was also the best they had ever done at the 渡辺麻友Dome. This had never exactly been a comfortable assignment for Grilled, and looked to be another challenge with Mayuyu gaffer Sergio García de Camargo putting them out in a compact 4-4-2. Grilled's gunnery was in full bloom, however, and not even the early departure of
Dimitris Germanakos due to a freak injury, could deny them.
Tian Yonghang would revert to what he called his best starting eleven in the pre-match interview for this match, with the possible exception of
Enrique Baena on the right wing, due to
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan still struggling for form. Notably, this did not include
Chan Ze Han despite his unimpeachable scoring record, with
Phua Ming Xin back supported by Reece and Tokarz - perhaps a sign that the flag had truly been passed on.
24 year-old Bolivian winger
Federico Parada would captain the team out on the left, which put him in close communications with his Mayuyu foil Lucas Wauquier for the most part. It would be Baena and Reece to do much of the question-asking for a start, and their continued efforts would have Baena successfully pull a low cross invitingly across the Mayuyu box, in the seventeenth minute.
Chia Kwang Tse chanced upon the pass, and met it with a stinging half-volley that just about eluded Philip Boestlinger.
Mayuyu AKB48 kept their frame despite falling behind, and although they were not able to claim much of the possession, they preserved their discipline and defensive coverage, in patiently waiting to turn their fortunes around with an equalizer. Those hopes were given a boost as
Dimitris Germanakos turned his right ankle in scrambling Joonas Ahola's grounder aside in the 33rd minute, only to be immediately dashed as Grilled carved their central defence apart from the restart, with
Orest Tokarz elbowing former Slovakian youth international Rudolf Kefalín aside to apply the final touch.
The goal that the home fans had been demanding would only arrive after that second for the Birds, as Ahola tried again, and got his angles on Jonathan Duhamel's little chip forward exactly right. Their exuberance would again be short-lived as their backline duly crumpled, first in offering no resistance to
Joe Reece as he rose for Parada's corner with entirely predictable results, and then ignoring
Damian Hutter as he threw himself at a Tokarz short cross, coming from deep.
This was 4-1 to Grilled Birds at half-time, and almost certain another mission accomplished for the visitors. Mayuyu were moreover unable to pick themselves up completely over the break, and a disconcertingly-shaky restart had
Phua Ming Xin bully their defence before unleashing from six yards, drawing one of Philip Boestlinger's best saves of his career. Grilled kept the aggression up, with
Enrique Baena lucky to escape a direct red for a very ugly chopdown job on Antonio Olivieri, in the 54th minute.
That assault gave the home fans a clear target for their discontent, and they would take a particular relish in rubbing it in, as Baena lost Olivieri five minutes later for the Italian to lap up a counter from the other flank. The resulting two-goal deficit didn't feel particularly vulnerable for Grilled, however, as they continued piling it on. The pressure in the middle eventually gave 72 minutes in, and
Joe Reece would get in behind the defence, for 5-2.
With the game sewn up, Tian would give
Chan Ze Han his in for
Orest Tokarz for the final ten minutes, with Baena off for Ferzan for the last five. Chan would not be able to build on his goal-finding reputation directly today, but he would still manage an injury-time assist to
Phua Ming Xin, perhaps reflecting his newfound role in the team.
