Triple Trin
Lighting It Up
Grilled Birds were determined to enjoy one of the sunniest days in recent weeks, and East Coast amateurs Fofos19 were unfortunate to be in the way. 31 year-old captain and schoolteacher Chong Kok Ah would take his time chatting with
Ha Qicai and American referee Steven Tyler as they awaited kick-off, probably recognizing how this was likely to turn out. Grilled had certainly spared few efforts in assembling what had to be close to their strongest XI, if still without major buys in the off-season.
Fofos19 would hold out for almost eight whole minutes, which was itself a testament to their above-average teamwork. Admin worker and central defender Chan Heng Kim would lose his concentration for a second then, sadly, and that was sufficient for
Lim An Keng to force his way past, and deposit the ball in Liao Rong Ming's net. The former Chinese national in goal would soon concede two more by the 16th minute, with
Chia Kwang Tse and
Gandhik Chitre also taking the direct route.
The hosts caught a second wind after going 0-3 down, with 19 year-old student Austin Saeteurn acquitting himself admirably against midfielders that were far above his level on paper. Chia had the good grace to give Saeteurn the thumbs-up after getting caught mid-turn, but the Birds' advantage in overall quality was simply too much.
Paulino Trindade would polish off
Raúl Himadas' through pass in the 35th minute, and despite
Gandhik Chitre's finish getting deflected after he skinned Chow Wan Kim three minutes later,
Mohd Marzuki Khairul would score from the short corner anyway.
The Birds would not get through the game without paying a heavy price, however, and it would be collected four minutes before half-time. Fofos19 had gotten the ball across the midway line for the first time in a long while, and Chong then managed to lift it into the opposition box. Alas, it was too high and easily claimed by
Radomil Marcol... who certainly wouldn't have imagined that Tham Loong Jin would crash into him from behind.
It was clear that Marcol was badly hurt from the way he fell to the ground, even as the 18 year-old Tham gleefully slotted the loose ball home. There was no way that goal was going to count, of course, and the Birds fans were aghast that Tyler did not send Tham straight off. In any case, it was the end of Marcol's day, and
Dimitris Germanakos would soon be back in his old position between Grilled's posts.
Of course, it was not like Fofos19 were threatening the Birds' goalmount much if at all, and the substitution would not have much of an effect on the progression of the match - or perhaps it did, with Grilled noticeably toning it down, after
Paulino Trindade completed his hat-trick by the 63rd minute.
Chia Kwang Tse would be booked a few minutes before that, for a shove on off-duty national serviceman Goh Ho Ping.
There could actually have been a few more for Grilled, but it was Liao Rong Ming's turn to shine. The bearded goalie had been left stranded when
Raúl Himadas' 71st minute free-kick whistled just over, but his added aggression would prevent at least two clear goals thereafter. The first of those was from
Gandhik Chitre's wild rush in the 75th minute, before a top-class one-handed stop against Chia's stinger in added time.
