
Grilled Birds 1 - 1 [2 - 4 p.k]
Haha 
Divers Keepers
Grilled Birds might have been knocked out of the Singapore Cup, but to their supporters, they had well exceeded expectations in matching S-League challengers Haha for 120 minutes. "Sure it was not their best team, but then it wasn't ours either." attending fan Lim Keng An chattered jubilantly. "This team is revving up to do great things, I just know it!"
Chan Ze Han, whose scoring chops remain undoubted despite going on 38 years, credited Haha's Spanish Number One César Gurruchaga for making the difference. "Not to blow our own trumpet, but Gurruchaga saved several good shots that would have won it outright for us. Not to take anything away from our lads, they were fantastic, and we nearly pulled off an upset for the ages!"
Grilled will now have the Sapphire Challenger Cup to contend with, as Farmer Bunnies transferred to the Consolation Cup, after falling 0-1 to Pearl Divers in the Ruby edition. The former S-League Divers profited from
Vitaliy Efendiev's poor form as they lived from minute to minute, with stray counters from
Louis Lee and
Lee Yau Tong coming short.
Mauro Fau had to raise his game in extra time to contain a Divers surge, which took this contest to penalties too.
Unlike Grilled-Haha, this was one where the goalkeepers were ascendant - which extended to putting the ball in the net. Of the ten kicks taken, only one made it though, which was their Israeli goalie Morris Bar-Sela driving it past
Gilberto Sorondo, on their fifth and last kick.
"Maybe I should have taken one myself." Sorondo mused.
There was no suspense for Grilled International against Switzerland's FC Adisson International, as they smashed the V.207 amateurs 5-0 in the H.I. Emerald Challenger Cup.
Helmy Syamsuzaman's renaissance as a centre-forward continued with a quality brace, which could have been a hat-trick were it not for his penalty goof in the 27th minute. Young defender
Tamit bin Said had two for himself from his many overlaps too, with
Chua Jun Long nicking the fifth and last goal.