Past Marsiling
Six To Five
Grilled Birds got past the fourth round of the Singapore Cup for the first time in twelve seasons, the last occasion being a 7-1 spanking of ArseVikings into a 1-2 defeat to Haha in the sixth round, before lifting the Emerald Challenger Cup with a 2-1 scoreline against Robbie Football Club in the final. The fans were fully prepared for another tactical retreat from the main competition, but the Birds had evidently collected enough Sapphire cups for now, and Marsiling were not exactly competitive enough to make dropping out tenable either.
The III.16 side had punished Marine Parade Kings 8-0 in the previous round, which together a similar 6-0 whitewash of Cheese Pirates FC before that, meant that their toughest challenge in the cup had been against semi-pro side PhyskonXI 2 in the beginning. 41 year-old Polish veteran striker Grzegorz Bryś had to convert a penalty in extra time to put Marsiling through then, and their Icelandic head coach Narfi Bragason knew enough to field his regulars today. This of course included homegrown midfielder Low Chuan Heng, the pride of the club with thirteen U-20 caps.
Well, it would be a discouraging day for the Marsiling faithful, to say the least. Bragason had talked a good game about holding the Birds, but any such pretensions would be shattered after but three minutes. Loh Loong Keong had been around for a long time, but his wits failed him in the face of a full-on onslaught by the Birds attack, and
Raúl Himadas picked up the pieces with a satisfying thump from the edge of the box.
Swedish custodian Jan Ångdahl tried to keep his defenders' morale up with his positive exhortations after conceding early, but it was soon clear that this was a lost cause for the Woodlands side. They were simply not equipped to deal with the pace and sharpness of Grilled's passing, with
Brian Reddy slipping through to supply
Lim An Keng in the eighth minute. Oh Kuan Hui's brash challenge on a sprinting
Chad Thach wouldn't prevent the national striker from making it 3-0 in the sixteenth minute, though it did cause the game to be briefly stopped for his yellow card.
Bragason must have recognized that his team were not about to get anything from this match by now, but there was no indication that he was planning to make any changes either, possibly due to wanting to allow his youngsters to gain some valuable experience. This wouldn't come off well for Low Chuan Heng, sadly, with the midfielder having to go off with a twisted left arm, sustained in defending against
Raúl Himadas' 21st minute free-kick in the wall. The defender nearly got his hat-trick too, having just chipped Ångdahl from another late run - but the goalkeeper sensationally smacked the shot onto the woodwork this time.
Low's academy junior at jiguo, Irfan Najmussabah, would replace him, and Marsiling continued the game with Grilled Birds toning their efforts down, perhaps mindful of their own personnel. Of course, they would still create sporadically, with Andrović putting up a floating cross into the opposition box 59 minutes in. One would have expected Ångdahl to come for it, but he stood back, perhaps judging it overcooked. Not for
Mohd Marzuki Khairul, though, with the Grilled forward stunning the crowd with an incredible flying strike.
The Grilled fans would be bouncing at that, but the mood would soon become a lot more solemn, after
Radomil Marcol reared up with a grimace on his face following a goal-kick.
Chia Kwang Tse put the ball out at the first opportunity to allow Marcol to get his calf looked at, and thankfully, the medic ascertained that it was a simple strain. There would be some discussion as to whether Marcol should be taken off, with
Dimitris Germanakos told to warm-up, but he stayed on in the end.
Damian Hutter would be Grilled's only sub of the day as he replaced
Darko Andrović in the final minute of regular time, but there would be one final twist in the tale from
Raúl Himadas.
Hwang Teck Fu was not about to pass up on selling contact from Marsiling skipper Lim Min Yeng, and Himadas would line up the resulting free-kick, with several Birds players gathering near the far post. The execution appeared botched with Himadas sending it right at the defensive wall... only for the ball to somehow pass through without losing speed, and thence past a befuddled Jan Ångdahl too.
