Killer Arrested
Lau Detained
IV.9 leaders Killer Football Club had enjoyed a charmed existence since their founding last year, having promoted from Division Five at first asking while not even participating in the transfer market. Few could critique head coach Lee Wan Hock either, as he won five out of six matches in the fourth division, while also guiding the club to five straight victories in the Emerald Challenger Cup, including against UP FC and fallen former S-League giants Shining Lights.
They were definitely the underdogs against East Coast side Maynex in the previous round, but dug deep to wring out an extra-time winner from Fung Guang Rong's corner kick conversion - helped by Maynex's loss of goalkeeper Foo Li Kang to a serious groin injury in the second half. Grilled were beyond anything they had faced thus far, however, and Killer FC would gain their first taste of the level of competition available in Singapore.
This moreover took just two minutes to hammer home, as
Mohd Marzuki Khairul seized upon Razin Nasser's too-casual dallying on the ball, to rob it and crash a stunner past 18 year-old goalkeeper Cheong Chi Aik. The Killers definitely realized what they were up against at that, but this wouldn't do them much good in stemming the coming avalanche. Winger Lau Leong Huat's bandaged thigh had him struggle to keep up with the pace, and after he held
Hwang Teck Fu back in the tenth minute, his yellow card would be rubbed in by a
Chad Thach goal afterwards.
The match was beginning to take on the flavour of a Singapore Cup first rounder, and even the most fervent Killers fan would have to admit that they were done, after
Lim An Keng barrelled a corner home in the 19th minute for 3-0. Lau was then sent off after crashing into
Gandhik Chitre just outside the box about the 26th minute, and Lim would grab another from a Hwang assist as Killer FC tried to reform themselves. German referee Felix Ellebracht would not cut the Killers any slack despite their disadvantage, and awarded a penalty after slight contact in the box 38 minutes in, duly snapped up by
Raúl Himadas.
Killer FC returned for the second half a lot more relaxed than they were, perhaps after realizing that the outcome was settled, and this had them yield some impressive flashes of invention. Grilled contributed by understandably lowering their output, which had teenaged centre-forward Lim Kum Kuan work his way past a cautious
Ha Qicai five minutes in. Japanese backup goalkeeper
Dahan Bok had read the situation well, however, and simply got in place to gather Lim's final touch.
Ellebracht wouldn't buy Mahesh Shenoy's contrived fall just outside the Birds penalty area in the 57th minute, which happened four minutes before
Lim An Keng completed his hat-trick with an unrestrained left-footed drive from all of twenty-five yards. The Killers tried to bite back through a hardworking Fung Guang Rong run from the restart that got all the way to the byline, but
Dahan Bok would parry the full-on header from Ho Ho Xin.
This was as good as it got for the Killers, who spared Cheong Chi Aik further distress by subbing him out for first-choice goalie Lam Wan Yao, with twenty minutes remaining. There would be a booking for
Chad Thach's cheeky standing in front of a free-kick, before Lam made a superb flying save off
Lim An Keng in the 81st minute. That didn't keep
Hwang Teck Fu from then putting two more past him towards an 8-0 final scoreline, though.
