The West Rises Again
Three Four-Threes
Grilled Birds could not escape a third successive league defeat, this time at a near-capacity West Merlions Arena, where the home fans were evidently optimistic about a result against the flagging Birds. As with the previous two losses, Grilled scored thrice only to let in four, which was ultimately of little consolation to
Tian Yonghang, given that it was the points that counted.
In a completely unexpected move, Tian fielded striker
Gandhik Chitre alongside
Genki Nagano in defence, which was perhaps more a statement on the form and fitness of
Raúl Himadas,
Aw Keng Chuan and
Damian Hutter, than any endorsement of Chitre's talent for the position.
Mohd Marzuki Khairul made up the offensively-leaning Birds midfield three together with
Chad Thach and
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko, leaving
Hwang Teck Fu to lead the line supported by Lim and Chia.
Against this, the hosts fielded a narrow 3-5-2 if without any substitutes apparently due to misfiled paperwork, with Sri Lankan playmaker Martin Ramanayake returning to the fray after having been left out against Controlar last weekend. This was the same for his Cambodian teammate Chhay Rithy and big Romanian sweeper Radu-Andrei Vărzaru, who was apparently picked for his aerial ability and size, in view of the Birds' strengths in that regard.
The reverse fixture at The Cooking Pot had ended 5-2 with the Birds scoring freely, and
Lim An Keng picked up where he had left off in the 72nd minute then, as he tussled on the left side of attack against Finnish defender Juuso Varila with eight minutes on the clock. This was a holding pattern while
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko made up his mind on where to put the ball, eventually sliding it into empty space about equidistant from Varila and goalkeeper Constantin Mihai. Lim would beat both to it by a fraction, and clipped it over Mihai's sliding block to put the Birds ahead.
There would be a contested period with no clear attempts on goal for some twenty minutes following, before French winger Philippe Roudier broke the tedium with a screamer from over thirty yards, that
Radomil Marcol couldn't get to. Grilled retook the initiative afterwards, and Ramanayake was booked for a late tackle on
Mohd Marzuki Khairul on the half-hour.
Gandhik Chitre then proved that there was no hiding innate predatory instinct, when he capped a relentless advance with a classic striker's finish, 37 minutes in.
That woke the game up again, if with Chhay Rithy first joining Ramanayake in the referee's black book for his own bad foul on Hein. The Grilled free-kick happened to be a turning point for Merlions as it got cleared long and crossfield to their right wing, where Nicolae-Cristian Cută latched on to it after
Phillip Nagata had missed the header. Chitre did well to get in the way, but Cută retained the presence of mind to dig it backwards to Martin Ramanayake, who found Aide Gallartzagoitia with a volleyed first-touch assist!
It was undeniably a fine equalizer, and there were definitely few in attendance who opted for an early break, with the action very obviously heading towards a boil now. With four minutes left in the first half, the Birds focused their efforts down the middle with
Hwang Teck Fu knocking it down for
Hisham Zubari, but the newcomer's maiden Grilled goal would have to wait as Constantin Mihai parried his powerful strike some distance away. Instead, it was the hosts who came good from their left-sided counter, with Ajay Lieuw Fat slipping Ramanayake through with his weighted pass - and the Sri Lankan made no mistake.
Half-time went by in what seemed like a heartbeat, with Grilled Birds eager to resume the game despite being behind. They had good reason to from how
Phillip Nagata evaded all challengers just three minutes into the new half, but
Chad Thach must have left his scoring boots at home, from how he failed to control the cross for what would have been a basic tap-in. West Merlions were soon hit by a big problem, though, as goalscorer Gallartzagoitia sat down in agony having pulled his back muscles, and had to be taken off.
This left the home side with ten men due to their bench issues, but if anything encouraged the remaining players to pick up the slack. A sizzling three-minute spell starting about the 62nd minute followed, which had Ajay Lieuw Fat center it for Chhay Rithy, whose header was saved by Marcol. Rithy would be more successful with his own assist for Philippe Roudier on the run, while Ghani Naim could have added a fifth immediately after, only to graze the crossbar.
The match was then paused after Stefaan Blankenstein contested what he thought was a wrong decision on a throw-in, and the Birds took the opportunity to compose themselves, with Slovakian referee Róbert Riečny finally booking the Dutch midfielder after he had ignored repeated requests to let it go. The injury bug then hit Grilled Birds too, with
Chia Kwang Tse catching his left leg in the turf, 74 minutes in;
Aw Keng Chuan would be called to replace him.
Being down a man would affect the Merlions' play eventually, and it was Grilled Birds who asked all the questions in the fifteen minutes of regular time remaining to them.
Phillip Nagata was the first as a botched clearance had him in ideal shooting position some ten yards from goal, but he pulled his effort, missing the right post by some distance. It was left for
Hwang Teck Fu to take matters into his own hands, as he fed on his own rebound off Constantin Mihai in the 85th minute, to grab a second-chance goal for 4-3.
Alas, there would be no consolation point for the Birds, as
Genki Nagano picked up their only yellow card of the day, for his dangerous tackle on Cută. Merlions boss Homero Balseiro knew a tactical gift when he saw it, and milked the stoppage for all it was worth. Tian would attempt one final roll of the dice with a double sub of Reddy and Himadas on for Nagata and Aw, but Martin Ramanayake closed the four added minutes out by taking it to his own corner flag.
