Signora Signoff
Phua Dubstep
Burkina Faso Division Two side Signora Pina arrived at The Cooking Pot having just negotiated a transfer from II.1 to II.3, and they would provide a fair enough challenge for Grilled Birds' first team, before going down 2-5. German goalkeeper Kay Storbeck had a very busy day indeed, as Pina made it their primary objective to feed Romanian striker Ciprian Băitanu, but to little enough success.
The Birds' best would be gathered for a relaxing weekend friendly for the first time this season, and the freedom this granted would only make them all the more dangerous, as
Brian Reddy demonstrated within three minutes. Had this been a game that actually mattered, he might have been castigated for what looked like an overly-casual crossfield lob, but its genius was soon evident as Morocco central defender Chadi Kihal was unable to cut it out despite his best efforts, leaving
Phua Ming Xin to gather it at leisure, and slip it past Storbeck.
Gústav Thoroddsen made it 2-0 in the 20th minute with a pretty-standard shuffling about of the ball - for him at least - that took him inside despite the close marking of two defenders, but the visitors got one back through English winger Jeffrey Zane, six minutes on.
Egemen Dinçer Ferzan was not having a good time defensively with Zane consistently getting a step on him, and there was nothing
Mohd Marzuki Khairul could do despite recognizing the danger, as he clipped Zane after he had released the shot, to earn a yellow card.
Marzuki would have his moment shortly afterwards as his willingness to cover ground aided him at the other end, with the Birds' right wing having entered a period of unusual productivity under Reddy. It took two attempts, with Marzuki arriving a split-second too late sliding into
Phua Ming Xin's weakly-hit grounder running out at the far post, but Pina tried to pass their way out, and play would be recycled via Reddy. Three sharp one-touch passes found Marzuki waiting, and there would be no mistake this time round.
Signora Pina's teamwork would buoy them about this point, as captain Jason Kuijt directed expertly from midfield. Băitanu had a good head on his shoulders too as he purposefully lured
Ha Qicai close to earn a corner kick, and with five men in the penalty area, Pier Luigi Mazziotti shoved it past
Dimitris Germanakos following his initial block off Jørgen Scheie.
Orest Tokarz and Marzuki then wasted fine chances with half-time looming, and
Chia Kwang Tse would be booked as he flattened Ubaldo Cattani in his haste to retrieve the ball.
The match restarted at a far slower pace, as Pina plotted to grab their equaliser while risking as little as possible. Their sitting deep would certainly pose a problem for Grilled, who would fail to threaten Storbeck appreciably for the first fifteen minutes of this half.
Bilal Mohammad Harun's entry for
Damian Hutter at the back would not change the status quo, but the game would start ot pick up again after Habib Bara came on for Hervé Traoré on Pina's left. If that was meant to offer new legs against
Brian Reddy, it was not going to work, as Reddy gladly exploited the debuting youngster's naivety.
It took just three minutes for Reddy to get it to Phua once again, but the Grilled forward would volley it slightly wide, after the transfer-listed Polish midfielder Jakub Kajda ran him down at the last instant. There was no mistaking the Birds gaining the upper hand, though, as Kuijt would be forced into taking one for his team next, in holding
Mohd Marzuki Khairul back to prevent a dangerous three-on-two break. That only delayed the inevitable, with Phua evincing a route through Pina's defence on Grilled's next push, and embarking on a stop-and-start dribble to throw his marker off, for his second goal.
Orest Tokarz put Grilled out of reach with a powerful header on
Hwang Teck Fu's speculative ball over the last man as Grilled attacked from kick-off, and he would continue pressing mercilessly until the last minute, when he made way for
Chan Ze Han with three minutes on the electronic scoreboard. That was sufficient for Marzuki to attempt a sixth only to for his drive to be clawed away on the line by Storbeck, and Phua would go direct from the free-kick after Ubaldo Cattani tried to collapse on the loose ball, only to miss by miles.
