Kings Sunk
Gústav Thoroddsen might have enjoyed his unscheduled holiday, but it would be Farmer Bunnies who enjoyed the most attention this Wednesday, after they reached the Singapore Consolation Cup final by stopping III.2 club Marine Parade Kings, three goals to nil. The cyan-clad Kings had hoped to counterattack the Buns at Arch Angel, but their strategy would be thrown into disarray once
Lee Yau Tong slid a very early opener home in the third minute, on
Arun Ponnusamy's brave dribble directly into the box.
There would be notable missed chances from
Amaya Ravula and
Lim Guang Qiang, both of which scratched the woodwork, before the Kings had a legit opportunity to equalize in the 37th minute; Italian winger Virginio Alasia nearly stole the headlines with a lob from nowhere that
Gilberto Sorondo only barely managed to get contact on, after which the goalkeeper tumbled helplessly into his own net, from the momentum; former Suriname youth international Edgar Liu had the goal mostly at his mercy then, but
Dušan Václavík's presence was just about sufficient to throw him off his strike.
That was a very narrow escape for the Buns, who pulled Ponnusamy and Lim off for
Louis Lee and
Judah Cho for the next half, in an effort to sew it up. That they did with
Toh Eng Guang volleying home from Ravula's 68th minute cross, and
Mauro Fau would leave nothing to chance as he confirmed the win with five minutes remaining. Romanian striker Bogdan Zaban called out for the ball plenty if in vain, but he will have the consolation of likely winning the competition's Golden Boot anyway, with nobody left close to his eight goals thus far.
With a shot at only their second national-level trophy in their grasp, the Buns are now laser-focused on fellow finalists FC Phondle by all accounts, after Phondle's 4-0 elimination of Sunrise Treasure FC in the other semis. "I am not saying it will be easy, but I can say that we have done it, and can do it again." goalkeeper and club captain
Gilberto Sorondo said, to loud assent from his jubilant fellows.
As for Grilled International, they would hardly break a sweat against Tahiti IV.15 visitors Daffy Duck FC, who succumbed 0-7 despite a courageous display by Daffy skipper Pito Tiatia in midfield.
Leri Bezhanishvili scored twice in a dominant first half that saw International six up, and had it not been for several great saves by Samuel Raapoto, it would have easily gone into double digits.
