Faciem Vult
Goal La Goal
The Birds advanced to the third round of the Sapphire Challenger Cup, after a difficult 1-0 victory over II.1 side Vulturii Singapore. The prominent downtown club went for the same long-shot tack that had seen them crash out of the Singapore Cup 0-3 to FC Barca Singapore last weekend, and it proved no more effective against Grilled as far as scoring went.
Belgian boss Hugues Vankrunkelsven could not be accused of lacking conviction on his tactics, which would place plenty of responsibility on Finnish central midfielder Joonatan Sinimäki, as one of his major goal outlets. Veteran utility man Khidir Amin Safwan would unavoidably be a weak link, as Grilled went narrow with
Federico Parada and
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan squeezing play when they could. The latter would also receive some interest from the Bolivian national squad before the match, but ultimately didn't make the cut.
It would be
Phua Ming Xin returning to lead the line up top, but actual meaningful chances would be few and far between, with Vulturii's two banks of five largely more than equal to most of Grilled's attempts at advancing. The Birds' overloading of the middle would bear some fruit, however, as
Federico Parada's rapid footwork took him past two defenders in quick succession, to open up a small window of opportunity in the penalty area. His grounder was accurately aimed to the far post, but reserve goalkeeper Erwin Pak knew where it was going, and parried it if slightly awkwardly.
Undaunted, the Birds continued executing
Tian Yonghang's orders, and the first major mistake from the Vulturii backline would prove to be critical.
Paulino Trindade, operating on the inside for once, didn't seem to be going anywhere as he turned this way and that on the outside of the box, and he seemed to have lost it when he blindly swept it square upon being swarmed. Bolesław Brant would inexplicitly not step up to clear, though, and
Evandro La Face was not one to let such a mistake go, as he bulldozed Franco Kriviec to bury it.
La Face would be active from the get-go as the second half started, and he would not be far away at all either as
Lim An Keng fed him the ball in the 48th, with his creative lob coming back off the post. This led to Vulturii's best chance of the entire match as their positioning finally clicked with Grilled's midfielders scattered, and Bulgarian winger Dobri Tzaribashev took the shot on once he reached the corner of the Grilled box. The power was unmistakeable, but
Dimitris Germanakos was unconcerned as it rose way over the crossbar.
The Vulturii gameplan was beginning to take its toll against Grilled's easy mobility, and Italian centreback Franco Kriviec would feel the pace in the 62nd minute, as he twisted his left ankle in guarding
Gandhik Chitre's sudden pull forward. He would elect to play on with it bandaged up, and would be targeted by
Federico Parada some minutes later, on a Grilled surge. This came very close too, with Parada rattling the woodwork noisily.
It was then Erwin Pak to keep his team in it, backup option as he was, and he would far exceed expectations with some wonderful saves, as the game drew to a close. Both
Lim An Keng and
Evandro La Face must have thought they had scored once the ball left their feet, but Pak made the block despite having to react in a split-second, on both occasions. The 31 year-old might have endured 13 seasons before making his professional debut, but those saves could have made it all worth it!
