Sobran Take Seven
Aliaga Ace
Thoroddsen is sure one to apologize in deed, with Peruvian IV.33 club Los Que Sobran his latest victim, as he recorded a hat-trick in a 7-1 demolition job in South America at their Tanto Sol Sobre Las Cabezas. 19 year-old Alberto Aliaga would however steal the hearts of even the visiting Birds diehards with a spirited display particularly in the first half, where he tested
Cameron Law to the limits, before claiming a deserved goal.
Aliaga's linkups with fellow academy graduate Lizandro Acostupa would be one of the main selling points of this Sobran side, and their combination would birth a serious chance for the hosts in just the fourth minute, as Comoros referee Salim Youssouf blew for a foul on Acostupa by
Chad Thach just outside Grilled's box. Acostupa took it instantly, flummoxing the Birds' defenders as Aliaga rushed foward on cue, and only Law's alertness kept him from getting onto it.
That scare done with, Grilled's assuredness in midfield took over, and
Gústav Thoroddsen took all of ten minutes to get the team in front with a stylish dribble against centreback Augusto Ames, that Ames had no way to stop. Sobran then held out for 22 more minutes, before
Radovan Jaška's corner dropped into a crowded six-yard box, and goalie Ernesto Alejos got cut off by his own man to allow
Chia Kwang Tse to connect with the header.
A good team effort from the restart then saw another free-kick won about eighteen yards out for Sobran, and Aliaga dipped it over the defensive wall, to loud oohs from the home fans. Law read that too, however, and dove to turn it around his goalpost. That sequence saw Augusto Ames booked for bumping hard into
Paulino Trindade trying to reach a possible rebound, which barely paused the action with Thoroddsen flying through for 3-0 at the other end. Aliaga's time would come, though, as he cut inside as Sobran built smartly from open play, and this time he would slip it under Law before the Grilled custodian could go to ground.
The reception for Aliaga's goal dwarfed the others, as expected, and kept the Sobran support singing through half-time.
Orest Tokarz wasted no time getting down to business after replacing
Joe Reece, and after three minutes on the pitch, he would have a goal to his name as
Aw Keng Chuan rolled a deceptively slow through pass down the middle. Chia's second came in the 56th minute as 37 year-old leftback Joel Oscate's lack of pace got found out, and
Chad Thach swooped in from the other flank 65 minutes in, only to narrowly miss.
Sobran made their first change in the 75th minute - captain Paulino Olazo off for Luigi Parolisi, who took over the armband. The following throw-in would see Sobran make another impressive mass push, but Ramiro Cevallos' excellent rising drive would be parried aside by
Cameron Law, who was profusely thanked by
Mohsen El Khateeb, who had lost Cevallos there.
The main question remaining was whether
Gústav Thoroddsen would get his hat-trick, and the Icelander did not disappoint, in finding the net from a difficult position, 80 minutes in. There would be one last goal in stoppage time after oldies
Bhavya Panigrahi and
Bilal Mohammad Harun came on, with Bilal enjoying a rare assist in tipping a header on for
Orest Tokarz to score from.
