Glæsir Glassed
Gústav Homecoming
Tian Yonghang had dropped hints several times that the club had an eye on gifting
Gústav Thoroddsen a trip back to his native Iceland for some months, and Grilled Birds would make good on the promise today, as they touched down in Vesturland to play IV.64 club Glæsir Akranes. Thoroddsen would play only the second half due to his still recuperating from a calf concern, but that would hardly stop him from claiming his usual goal as a keepsake.
The yellow-shirted Akranes would come on the field first in the freezing drizzle, which posed an additional test to a Birds XI far more accustomed to the blazing sun. That handicap wasn't enough to make this much of a contest still, with Dutch Number One Robert Overdreef being Akranes' biggest name for this friendly by some distance. The hosts were otherwise pinning their hopes on right winger Ísak Björnsson supplying captain Ferdinand Opstrup in their symmetric 3-5-2, which however would quickly be swamped under a series of unfavourable one-on-one matchups.
Lim An Keng would for example have the upper hand over Jón Brynjólfsson in midfield throughout the ninety minutes, and it was only bad finishing from him that kept the Birds from going up in the 14th minute, following bad judgment on the bounce of the ball by the Akranes defence.
Mohd Marzuki Khairul slammed it past Overdreef with 26 minutes gone after some fine control on the slippery grass, before finding the side-netting six minutes on after meeting
Paulino Trindade's low cross early on the right.
Marzuki would not emerge for the second half despite his high productivity, but the few Birds diehards that had made the trip were hardly upset, given that this meant that
Gústav Thoroddsen would have his turn. The capped Icelandic international would draw quite the welcome from the Akranes supporters too - made easier by the non-existent stakes - and when he exhibited his killer's instinct by picking up on Búi Freymundsson's slow turn to steal the ball and score barely six minutes after coming on, the cheers would sound from all sides of the Glæsifell.
Another substitution would be made for the Birds on the hour, with
Aw Keng Chuan rested for
Teo Chuan Yong, which also coincided with perhaps what was the visitors' most vigorous press of the day. This saw
Damian Hutter get frisky with a cheeky showing of the ball to Huldar Árnason before hoofing it over the bar, but not by all that much, and the short goal kick would be intercepted with
Hwang Teck Fu even rounding Overdreef with Thoroddsen feeling generous. Hwang dallied too much before putting in the final touch, sadly, and Guyana teenager Atoapem Capone was able to stop it crossing the line.
Capone would be feted by his teammates for that save as Hwang groaned in disappointment, and Akranes would raise the level of defiance with Erling Harðarson soon booked for his altercation with
Paulino Trindade following a particularly nasty tussle on his left touchline. They would shake hands at referee Tobias Higginbotham's insistence, and
Hwang Teck Fu would then atone for his prior laxity, by banging it in at the first opportunity for 3-0 in the 71st minute.
The match was actually gaining pace with both teams not having overly exerted themselves previously, which led to some of the most exciting moments of the day coming late. First up would be Búi Freymundsson's painful-looking fall in the 76th minute as he contorted himself to wrap around
Federico Parada to make a tackle, which resulted in a dislocated shoulder that required Argentine veteran Franco Rodolfo Hatserian to make his appearance.
Hatserian would shut down their right flank far more thoroughly than Freymundsson had managed, it had to be admitted, and this led to Akranes' best attacking move of the game several minutes on. This had Ísak Björnsson get one over Parada for once, and an incredible outswinging delivery appeared destined for Jón Brynjólfsson's head, but the timing was off. Worse, this sparked a long ball down the centre by
Ha Qicai, and
Chia Kwang Tse would have it in the opposition net after sprinting inside at the right instant.
There would be another yellow, this time for Gísli Sigvaldason, as he felled
Cameron Law on their next possession after Chia's move and goal, but the Grilled goalie could afford to be forgiving with the task accomplished anyhow. Law would deal with his hobbling by delegating goal kick duties to Hutter for the rest of the match, and then
Bilal Mohammad Harun after the latter replaced Hutter for stoppage time.
