Underwater In Pot
Cută Of The Action
The Birds improved against West Merlions after a miserable 1-5 defeat in Sentosa three weeks ago, but it was not nearly enough against a flying Merlions side with a nine-game win streak in all competitions. They had certainly regrouped handily after a four-day stumble that had them lose 0-2 to Padstow Pirates in the Sapphire Challenger Cup and then FC Barca Singapore in the league, but considering that their only other competitive losses had been against United Legends FC and newbies are newbies, their underlying strength could not be doubted.
Uruguay boss Homero Balseiro had no reason to change anything from the lineup that had schooled Grilled Birds so thoroughly, and he did not. As for the Birds, they would have
Mohd Marzuki Khairul back for another go after he had sustained a serious chest injury in the reverse fixture, but the big change would be
Darko Andrović replacing
Paulino Trindade at left wing. Not only that, Andrović would lead the team on as skipper, in tribute to the luck he brought in that role in lifting the cup.
Additionally,
Chad Thach would be restored to the front lines as
Tian Yonghang sought to draw upon his considerable knack at scoring, but it would be Merlions to spoil his day in double time. The Birds felt a step slow once the match got underway, naturally attributable to all the adrenaline from midweek, and there would be no man on Juuso Varila as the Finnish defender ventured close to the penalty area. Romanian striker Nicolae-Cristian Cută came around the back as several of his teammates advanced in tandem, and Varila's accurate diagonal ball was well-received and tapped past
Radomil Marcol.
This had to be accounted a defensive error by any standard, and Marcol's remonstrations would ensure no repeat by his teammates, for awhile at least.
Chad Thach was definitely not wanting in the tackling department as he kept going at the Merlion midfield, only to be booked in the 14th minute for bringing Stefaan Blankenstein down - which will see him suspended for next Sunday. The middle of the first half would see Andrović,
Brian Reddy and
Chia Kwang Tse record bona-fide shots on target within a busy five-minute span, but Sverre Abelin kept his goal unbreached.
Energy levels would dip nearer half-time, and it was the Merlions who charged out of the gates for the second period; the Birds looked positively shaky whenever they lost possession in their own half, and thus it was in the 51st minute, when Dutch wingman Ajay Lieuw Fat came off the better against Reddy's attempted sudden pull past him.
Raúl Himadas tried to cut out the early cross, but it was just a bit too high for him, and said cross then dropped very nicely for Cută to ram a second goal past Marcol on the volley.
It wasn't that Grilled were unable to create either, but they couldn't find a way past the impressive Abelin, who next made his mark against a powerful
Brian Reddy effort from ten yards. Tian could not wait much longer, and sent
Hwang Teck Fu on for
Aw Keng Chuan, with a brief to make things happen. Hwang didn't take very long either, as he soon crafted an attack down the right that came off Aide Gallartzagoitia for a corner. Himadas plonked it right into the middle of the box, and Abelin would for once misjudge his reach - allowing
Lim An Keng to nod it down into an undefended net.
Alas, all that brought was two more goals in rapid succession from the Merlions, who found the Birds very much wanting on the backfoot. The supporters might have understood how Gavin Stockwell got through, with Grilled abandoning thought of defence in chasing an equaliser, but their then allowing Jusso Varila through was just irresponsible.
Radomil Marcol would again chew out his defenders for that lapse, but all of them knew that the game was probably beyond salvaging now.
West Merlions knew what they had to do with a three-goal lead, and it would be an extremely unfun last twenty minutes for Grilled Birds, as they tried to close the opposition down to little success. There would be a minor consolation after a tired
Ha Qicai went off for
Mohsen El Khateeb at least, with none other than
Chad Thach earning himself more plaudits with his prescient advance onto a Reddy flick, in the single minute of added time.
