A Beng In Seven
Himadas Flaunts
Grilled Birds have been no strangers to Ah Beng FC in cup competition, having encountered the Holland grandees thrice before in the last sixteen seasons, including a memorable Ruby Challenger Cup final slamdunk. The Birds have moreover never scored fewer than five goals - while conceding just one - in each of these clashes, and they would set a new mark in today's quarterfinals as they finally shut the Bengs out.
Ah Beng FC had by the way been eliminated from the main cup by Farmer Bunnies on penalties, but they had excelled in the Sapphire Challenger Cup competition after that, defeating BYZANTINE, richlyeng rangers and then Mayuyu AKB48 in turn, all by four-goal margins. Soccershen FC dealt them a league setback on Sunday in a fierce derby that they aced tactically, however, and the Bengs' Estonian gaffer Ain Suvi would moreover not have first-choice goalkeeper Bennie Heidekorn available, after he had been taken out by a Mayuyu player. Still, they had redoubtable Polish striker Leopold Szpura to lead the line, with Nigerian midfield general Bernard Okowa raring to go too.
As for the Birds,
Hwang Teck Fu would be an automatic pick following Marzuki's injury, with the rest of the team all but selecting itself too.
Tian Yonghang had them playing narrow again, and it wouldn't take long for his tactics to come good. Ah Beng FC's young centrebacks Alessandro Campanella and Constantin Dörr were swiftly found wanting at this level, with
Chia Kwang Tse skinning the former only too easily with a basic feint in the fourth minute. Turkish goalie Taylan Püren tried to respond, but was too late in closing down.
It was all the way downhill for the Bengs from there, which was admittedly a repeat experience for their older fans.
Aw Keng Chuan would be the Birds' unsung hero as he orchestrated Grilled's attacks from the centre circle, which had
Lim An Keng up the score to 2-0 thanks to his through pass in the 12th minute. The Birds saw no reason to mess with a winning formula, and after
Gandhik Chitre forced his way inside on the half-hour only to miss,
Hwang Teck Fu chased the returned ball down to score - and all but put the game beyond the Bengs' reach.
There was actually no lack of fighting spirit on the opponents' side, such as from German forward Kevin Laa, who turned his ankle trying to chase
Ha Qicai down in a vain attempt to staunch the collapse. Romanian reserve György Flaisz would have to enter in his stead, just in time to witness an unsaveable
Raúl Himadas free-kick that was boomed into the left top corner. Latvian midfielder Fritjofs Tanbergs was another who never gave up, but his move on
Chad Thach in the 41st minute only brought a deserved yellow card, for being severely late.
It was a very relaxed-looking Grilled side that came out for the second half with the result no longer in doubt, and this had them only becoming more dominant over a discouraged Bengs side. Okowa continued his running battle with Aw, but would simply be outthought and outsupported on the day. Defensively, there was little improvement for the Bengs either, and a questionable backpass by Dörr would be seized upon by
Chad Thach 52 minutes in, for an easy fifth goal.
The crowd would be somewhat reduced from the initial 17000-odd by this point, though it could be noted that the green section remained quite active. Suvi would signal for Okowa to go forward more about this point, with the clear intention to at least salvage a consolation strike, in keeping with tradition. Grilled were not in a giving mood, alas, and instead continued piling on the goals with the Bengs' formation sagging.
Brian Reddy lofted one towards the box in the 62nd minute after shaking hardworking Maldives fullback Ali Rameez off, and
Raúl Himadas responded with a classy volley that came off Manuel Ramírez's extended leg - and barely losing any pace.
This would add up to a very bad day for Taylan Püren indeed, who would be let down by his backline one last time in the 67th minute. Nobody was interested in keeping an eye on
Paulino Trindade as
Gandhik Chitre toyed with the defenders, with the expected outcome. Still, the Bengs might have the goal they craved when they won a free-kick about eighteen yards out on a late counter, but Ramírez drove it inches wide, preserving
Radomil Marcol's clean sheet.
