Jabaquara Clubbed
Reed Repeat
American forward
Miguel Reed was the standout as Grilled dismissed their visitors from Brazil by four goals to two, after a hectic half-hour that saw the Birds outfoxed by Jabaquara's brand of the Beautiful Game.
Jabaquara Atlético Clube's style was one which few of Grilled's players, or even the huge 6000-odd in the crowd, had ever encountered, and they drew oohs and ahhs with their direct dribbling and ball control. Fabiano Tavares Rodrigues gave them a deserved lead in the eighth minute, as Grilled had no answer to their swift pass-and-move attack.
Central defender
Weng Seng-Huat has the worst of it as he couldn't adapt, and the amazing thing was that he made it to twenty minutes before being booked. Mindful of that, he didn't try to hard to recover the ball after losing it to Flavio Seixas later on, and while Bao-Tam blocked Seixas' thunderous strike back into midfield, it was sent right back past him by Ivar Lepsoo.
Now two down, Grilled looked set for a hiding, but who would come to the fore but young trainee
Li Ze; He hit a Hollywood pass that found its way past three Jabaquara players before landing at
Miguel Reed's feet, and it was the least Reed could do to bring it past opposing goalie Eduardo Correia.
The visitors seemed to wilt under Singapore's unforgiving sunshine as the game continued, and Siu-Cheung tested Correia with a well-placed but weak effort that had Correia scrambling to clear. It was Jabaquara's turn to be outrun, and goalscorer Lepsoo was carded for trying to retrieve the ball illegally.
Grilled drew level after a protracted siege as
Tim Blissenbach drove past a less-than-convincing defence, and then
Miguel Reed put them ahead for the first time with another cutting run. The visitors appeared to lose stomach when striker Mário Machado came off with cramp in the 81st minute, with only left winger Nuno Camarinha de Arriaga carrying on a one-man crusade.
Even some of the visiting players had to nod their heads when Englishman
Tim Hobson replicated one of their famous banana free-kicks to score in the 83rd minute, though they were less happy with
Chai Yew-Hoe's dangerous sliding challenge on Lepsoo in the same minute, which the forward barely avoided.
