Rwanda Cased
Toma Takeout
Grilled Birds regained their record of having hosted clubs from all extant Hattrick territories by welcoming Rwandan III.1 leaders FC Casèn Ruanda, who gave the Birds' reserves a very stiff test at The Cooking Pot. One of three African affiliates of Italian side A.C Avosso, Casèn have spent wisely under Finnish gaffer Toni Korhola, with Colombian defender Weimar Barco their current record transfer at a million dollars.
Korhola had assembled a fearsome 3-4-3 unit despite the lack of spending, with 19 year-old forward trainee Olivier Sibomana - a pickup from Division Four club Atleterna - one of the hottest properties in the region. Amongst the imports, French midfielder Julien Roset has been one of Korhola's top recruits, although his right-hand man on the ground was doubtless countryman Iikka Railio, a veteran of five clubs thus far.
The skies were clear in Jurong for once, with Japanese goalie
Dahan Bok leading his teammates out today, followed closely by skipper Darko Andrović, who would hang out in the middle. The El Khateeb brothers got a loud roar from the some four thousand diehards in attendance, with the commentators noting that they should be a regular sight on the friendly circuit for Grilled Birds from now on.
Aw Keng Chuan featured too, in defence alongside out-of-favour
Damian Hutter.
The Rwandan team were the hungrier at kick-off, that much had to be admitted, and they would make up with their running what the Birds had over them in disciplined passing. No one quite knew how long the Casèn players could keep this up, but they did make it to twenty minutes without the Birds testing goalkeeper Etienne Shyaka properly. There would be indignation from the stands when opposition striker Cyprien Umutoni knocked
Kendell El Khateeb to the ground in the 22nd minute, which was only amplified when referee Rostislav Grechushnikov flashed only the yellow card.
One felt that it might have been a red in an actual competitive game, and Umutoni didn't do much for his popularity in Singapore by continuing to proclaim his innocence. The discontent came to a boil three minutes later on a Casèn counterattack following
Hwang Teck Fu's rocket off the upright, which had Roset claim and take a quick free-kick wide to Umutoni. The fans were screaming for offside there, but the linesman saw nothing awry, and Umutoni duly centered it for Iikka Railio, who pounded it past
Dahan Bok without missing a beat.
This was not what the Grilled supporters were expecting from how the game was flowing, but the visitors were not done yet; their next attack had Roset and Railio slip past Andrović with a superbly-executed wall pass, before the latter found the onrushing Olivier Sibomana for 2-0. The Birds would at least strike back instantly, with
Kendell El Khateeb fast becoming a club darling as he read
Mohd Marzuki Khairul's intent correctly, to be where Marzuki wanted him to be.
Kendell admirably went straight back to plugging away at the opposition backline, and he would nearly tie it up off a good
Toma Tamiya cross from the right side, three minutes on. Casèn were not done with their surprises, however, and they were doing a number on the Grilled defence with their long passing. A swing out to the left saw German winger Hans-Peter Thulfaut loop it back into the box, and
Dahan Bok couldn't quite get it it before Congolese teenager Muteba Tasile - three-one!
The match was briefly paused for Tasile to get his head looked at, but replays would confirm that Dahan had barely brushed his hair with his follow-through. The game restarted with Marzuki looking grim in the centre circle, but it got better for Grilled as
Chia Kwang Tse raced through to reduce yet again, on a full-fledged raid. A second yellow would be given right before half-time, after Israeli leftback Nisan Shivhon tried to hold the game up, to allow his teammates time to recover.
FC Casèn Ruanda's forced tempo finally caught up to them in the second half, as it soon became evident that some of their players had pushed themselves way too hard, too early. While their overlapping fullbacks were responsible for two goals - and pinning Grilled back - in the first half, they would be a liability against a Birds attack in full swing.
Darko Andrović reminded the home fans what they had been missing, as he scooted past two defenders to equalize in the 50th minute.
It was game on now, as Casèn tried to rouse themselves again, but the lack of stamina could not be concealed for much longer. Grilled were getting the ball into their box with near-impunity, and it was down to Etienne Shyaka to guard his goal with all he had. The homegrown custodian pulled several incredible saves, but there was no getting close to
Toma Tamiya's powerful half-volley off
Mohsen El Khateeb's assist, 63 minutes in.
The Birds were ahead for the first time and not slowing down, and Shayaka had Dutch sweeper Filip Nijhoff to thank four minutes later, when he courageously threw himself at Marzuki's rammed strike from a
Chia Kwang Tse delivery. The referee would pull the game back after receiving word from his fourth official, though, and he gave the penalty after confirming that the shot had come off Nijhoff's hand.
Toma Tamiya took it, only for Etienne Shyaka to guess correctly.
Toma was not done, and neither was Rostislav Grechushnikov, as the referee repeated his penalty call just six minutes later - this time after some shoving in the box on Hwang. It was the Casèn supporters' turn to be outraged, but
Toma Tamiya had learnt his lesson, and arrowed his kick to the top right corner this time for 5-3.
