Nothing That New
Chen Charms
newbies are newbies got Grilled Birds back for their home loss in the previous half of the season, by beating them 4-2 at The Cooking Pot. Not that the Birds had much cause to complain as they were comprehensively outplayed in most areas by their visitors, with newbies Number Ten Chen Meng Heng bustling hard, and guiding his side to a decisive early lead.
While this was much the same XI as that last matching, there would be plenty of reshuffling of positions, with Chan and two-goal man Li Choon An withdrawn into midfield, and 34 year-old Wan Wadi Syarif taking up the mantle of withdrawn forward along with the captaincy. Grilled would focus on retaining possession with their wingers coming inside more often than not, and while they technically managed that objective, it didn't do them much good in the bigger picture.
newbies had pushed the pace initially before, and they would not change that part of their gameplan, to good effect with Grilled always looking shaky when reactive. Although newbies were playing narrow too, their wingbacks would make all the difference when going forward, with Elijah Gardner overlapping Lai Ping Keong - and
Brian Reddy - almost at will. A precise cutback allowed Chen Meng Heng to open in the 19th, and Tan Chu Chao would nearly double up from a long cross two minutes on.
That missed header would not go to waste in the end, anyway, as
Hwang Teck Fu tried to do too much with the ball in running it out, and got it stripped off him by Zhong Kim Tse just outside the box. Back it came as Zhong darted to the goalline before raking it across, and Chen's football sense came good again, as he got himself to the near post before anybody else for the second goal.
Grilled Birds were struggling now, and their mission would get only harder when
Aw Keng Chuan had to go off with a stressed right knee in the 33rd minute, which had
Damian Hutter enter in his stead. That did provide some unexpected fire, and
Gandhik Chitre pulled one back in the 39th minute, as
Gústav Thoroddsen dallied before going for the assist. newbies would be two up again just three minutes later, sadly, as Wan Wadi Syarif impressively gave Hutter the slip on Lai's dynamic direct run.
If Grilled were hoping that the interval would give them time to reset, nothing of that sort happened, and if anything the visitors would be the more refreshed as they continued to impose themselves on the contest. Tan Chu Chao and company would start to really stamp their class, and only an incredible reaction by
Dimitris Germanakos allowed him to get the barest of touches on Lai's drive in the 58th minute, and help it onto the crossbar. That was only a temporary escape, as it turned out, with Li Choon Ah finishing off the immediate return pass.
About the only consolation that the home fans could take was that their team never stopped trying, and despite the day obviously being a lost cause,
Gandhik Chitre did not once stop moving, and he would duly earn deserved plaudits when he dribbled past Volkert Eutiner after numerous failed attempts, to reduce it to 2-4 in stoppage time.
Brian Reddy will be suspended for next Sunday, however, after he was booked for a petulant trip on Lai Ping Keong right before the final whistle.
