Tamp Down
Fast Parada
Tampines Phoenix F.C.'s wait for their first point against Grilled Birds will have to wait, after Grilled claimed a 4-1 win at a scorched Phoenix Park today. 36 year-old club legend Israel Brown captained them out at left wing, but it was soon evident that he was somewhat reduced from the all-action star that battled the Birds three seasons ago in the Consolation Cup. Chen Rong Feng, the Phoenixes' other top performer that day, was also no longer with the club, having been moved on to Mexico's Barca_AmericaNorte.
This left former Joker 9 man Ong Ho Seng to lead the line alone in a 5-4-1, with former national midfielder Abd El Rahman Abd El Khalek shielding a very young backline. Young Birds fullback Kwek Lai Tse might have been expected to have featured today had he not recently left for Estonian Division Four side JK Wallah, but Phoenix head coach Ng Yun Shi would have his work cut out for him in trying to balance a very inexperienced defensive unit with his rather worn veterans, in any case. In contrast, Grilled had far fewer such concerns, even if they had to improvise with
Gústav Thoroddsen still on the injured list.
Gandhik Chitre filled in at centre forward, no doubt at least partly due to his impressive recent stints in the role as a sub.
Questions as to where Grilled's goals would come from would not last long as it was, with many spectators still filing to their seats when
Federico Parada worked his stuff. The Bolivian left winger had perhaps lowered his profile after handing over captaincy duties to
Ha Qicai, but this would only free him up to express himself, all the more thanks to the hosts taking a chance on overloading their left. This left only a less-than-confident 18 year-old Ow Siong Puay to handle Parada, a tall order at the best of times; thus, it came as no surprise when Ow lost him entirely when
Brian Reddy bent it deep from the right in the third minute, and ex-national custodian Daniel Lee could do no more after closing the angle some.
Tampines had evidently not learnt their lesson from that, and it was only after Parada had thumped a second into the net just two minutes later with Ow again disappearing, that they would rebalance towards the right side. The home fans would keep faith, not having expected too much more, and their constant support would be rewarded by Brown in the tenth minute. Displaying flashes of the unconventional footwork that had won him an incredible eighty caps, he would leave Reddy chopping at thin air before swinging it in from near the corner flag, which sure made Irwandy Zafir's day after it fell perfectly for the young defender at the back post.
Zafir's reducer kept things interesting, but there was no hiding that Grilled remained by far the favourites to take this. The Phoenixes' numbers and energy on defence did keep the Birds at bay quite often, and when that failed, Lee usually came good - as happened with
Brian Reddy's nice chip in the 23rd minute that the goalie just about reached. It was then largely quiet up until the 56th, when
Ha Qicai caught Lee exposed with a calculated curler from afar, only for Jerry Chu to stop it with his chest on the goalline.
That won the teenaged Chu plenty of appreciation from his teammates, as the hosts' self-belief grew in tandem. An equalizer was a little too much to ask of the generally-isolated Ong Ho Seng, however, and Tampines' hopes were finally sunk some 77 minutes in, as Grilled's repeated stretching of play finally came to fruition. Parada had taken two men with him as he teased a hat-trick with his vigorous runs on the left, which left space for
Brian Reddy to scoot inside and shoot hard for 3-1!
This was the sign for
Damian Hutter to replace
Aw Keng Chuan, amidst rumours of the 26 year-old Austrian's continued future at the club, after limited starts in his intended position in recent months. Hutter didn't do much wrong at least, as the attention returned to Tampines' end with
Hwang Teck Fu testing Lee with a diving header soon after kick-off. Chitre would leave for
Chan Ze Han after a day of honest hard work with about a minute remaining, which left time for Abd El Rahman Abd El Khalek to try for a late reducer - and
Lim An Keng to extend Grilled's lead on the recovery, in stoppage time.