Bezhani Takes The Miki
Birds captain
Ha Qicai agreed that losing by six goals was a bitter pill to swallow personally, but that the Challenger cup final took precedence. "We came out of today with no injuries and no cards, which was what the boss ordered." Ha said. "We will make it up to the fans in three days!"
Things got interesting elsewhere in the league too, as Singapore Red Dragons' impressive lead got cut to a single point, after their stunning upset by Glory Paradiso in Woodlands. Alex Duncan recorded one of the best games of his career stats-wise, as he scored first from a free-kick, and then from near twenty-five yards, right before half-time. This gave Paradiso a famous 4-2 victory, which got them off the foot of the table.
Bukit Regency now occupy the basement after losing by the same 2-4 scoreline to Joker 9, as their two-goal lead got overturned in the final fifteen minutes, largely through the contributions of Uruguay fullback Ariel Maceiras. Finally, Queenstown MZKs are now level with the Birds on eleven points, as Satya Khade got them a winner against newbies are newbies - themselves with a Ruby Challenger Cup final against frunzelite to contest.
frunzelite's preparations against Farmer Bunnies went well for them, in a one-sided match that they eventually won through vice-captain Erasmos Piperidis' piledriver, seven minutes from time.
Gilberto Sorondo had made many saves after
Lim Guang Qiang's early departure from a thigh pull, but the best of those would be from Sławomir Podgórni, after Piperidis' goal.
Amaya Ravula might then have rescued it from a rapid counter, but finishing had never been his strong suit.
There would be a shakeup at the top as Moeinsingapore overtook Dragon Devil's by beating them 2-0 on their own ground, with Goh Yew Shun and Yang Feng Da breaking the hosts' press. Featureship FC encountered no problems in the lead-up to their clash with the Birds as they wiped whipping boys Pasir Ris Corsairs 5-0, while AMDK FC pulled within two points of Crypto Moon, with Máximo Gabert coming up with the only goal of the game in the 38th.
Over in Brunei, there would be a welcome win for Grilled International, as they ousted Miki Munster 1-0 thanks to
Leri Bezhanishvili's 62nd minute drive past Álvaro Martucci. It was otherwise a banner day for the 35 year-old Nicaragua goalkeeper, as he kept a host of International chances out, in the previous half. "In the end, we have the points, and that's all that matters."
Umut Koza commented afterwards.
It wasn't enough to get International out of eighth place, though, with their goal difference still far worse than LEGIA GDAŃSK 2017, despite the Poles losing 1-3 to No gun but Roses FC in a physical encounter. CD Barcelota's perfect run continued with a 4-2 win over FC Cuba Lötschen, while DAB Ceuta beat Atletico Zvedza CF by the same margin, in their mid-table fixture.