Moe Of The Same
Yang Ones
The memory of Grilled Birds' win on penalties in last season's Sapphire Challenger Cup final had to still be fresh in the minds of the Moeinsingapore fans, as they flocked back to the Singapore Arena for this Emerald Challenger Cup quarterfinals. Milvydas Levišauskas' only change from that day would be to field Abhishek Gupta instead of Iranian veteran Farnoud Alizadeh in midfield, with Alizadeh having only appeared in three matches since that final. Unfortunately for the Pasir Ris club, it wouldn't make a difference as the Birds prevailed again.
Tian Yonghang would rotate his forwards into midfield and vice-versa, but otherwise there would be just the one difference too, which was
Gandhik Chitre leading the line in place of
Mohd Marzuki Khairul - who has reportedly been referred to a psychologist after an extended crash in form. There wasn't all that much to discuss as German referee Axel Abrell called captains Yang Feng Da and
Ha Qicai together for the toss, which Yang won, and elected to kick off with.
It was a tetchy start as with the previous finals, if with English midfielder Akolie Lopez soon getting chants about his 32nd birthday from his supporters in the stand. Again as then, the Birds would emerge from these preliminaries with more of the ball, if not much going on until
Chad Thach was seemingly trapped at the edge of the box by Goh Yew Shun and Alex Oldenbeuving in the 15th minute. Thach had no compunctions about trying his luck with a blind backheel... right to
Gandhik Chitre, who turned it past Canadian goalkeeper Amit Washington on pure instinct!
The Birds might not have fully deserved that lead, and it was Moeinsingapore to break from the pattern, with calculated long balls and localized breakouts. A particularly successful push in the 31st minute had Yang win a free-kick twenty yards out, which
Radomil Marcol warded over the crossbar from Risto Haapola's magnificent take. The danger wasn't over as Gerti Almeta took it short as soon as possible and was given it back, but his blazing run into the box wasn't finished off properly by Yang, who had put all his focus on ridding himself of
Raúl Himadas.
This took a lot out of Moeinsingapore mentally, and they were slow to respond for once as
Darko Andrović beat a furious pace up the field along the left touchline, as Marcol restarted with a great throw out wide. Concern developed into panic for the defenders as Andrović skipped past Mariano Clementz near-effortlessly, and Jerome Rego couldn't stay on the correct side of
Lim An Keng, as the Birds Number Eight juked for position. A sharp turn at the last moment had Rego flailing at thin air, and Lim put his shot under Washington before Haapola got back.
Grilled were cruising comfortably now, and they should really have put it beyond their opponents in the next few minutes, with a
Chad Thach effort deflected wide by Haapola's leg, before
Aw Keng Chuan blasted a screamer just inches over. The match then had to be stopped after
Chia Kwang Tse was inadvertently kneed in the back by Jerome Rego, and
Genki Nagano had barely come on for Chia, when
Chad Thach read Lopez's hurried clearance under heavy pressure from Chitre perfectly - and sent it right back into the net for 3-0.
The referee hadn't even gotten Rego over for his yellow card before the goal went in, but there was no escaping justice for the American fullback, even as Levišauskas protested loudly from the side. One could forgive some of the Moeinsingapore fans for losing hope about now, but they would be given a lifeline right before half-time. Goh Yew Shun exhibited all of his attacking flair on a mazy dash, what with there being little to lose, and a nifty release had Risto Haapola execute an unlikely one-two with Yang Feng Da, before sidefooting it just past
Radomil Marcol.
That was 3-1, but it remained unclear as to where the Pasir Ris challengers were going to find two more, to tie it up. The first twenty-odd minutes of the second half brought no hint as they held admirably without creating much if at all, and it was not until the 72nd minute that they asked a real question of Marcol via Spanish winger Jaime Isturiz. Isturiz's initial strike would be blocked right back at him by the goalie, and he would keep his head to dodge
Hwang Teck Fu's approach and slalom past two more men... only for Marcol to save again - and hold onto it this time.
Radomil Marcol wouldn't waste time on the ground as he sprang up for a big kick downfield, likely remembering how it had led to Grilled's second, and it would be brought down by
Aw Keng Chuan to be distributed to
Chad Thach. The defence somehow stood off Thach as he advanced warily, and it was only Washington's absurd horizontal leap, that kept his superlative curler towards the far corner from going in.
It was end-to-end action now, with Rego collecting the save despite
Lim An Keng's attentions, before powering upfield at a sprint. It all seemed to part for the brave fullback as he steamed on, and he got well past the centre circle before releasing the ball hard to the right side. Abhishek Gupta widely left it for Gerti Almeta, who however cut beautifully past
Ha Qicai only to slice his finish awkwardly towards the corner flag.
Still, it was Moeinsingapore who were looking the more dangerous side as the game entered its final fifteen minutes, as Grilled Birds kept losing their formation on defence. They would still have enough in the tank to keep their foes from threatening Marcol, at least until Yang Feng Da spun past two defenders after somehow keeping Goh Yew Shun's ambitious lob in play - before hitting the target from no angle at all. Spectacular as that was, though, there was sadly no time for him to try and find another.
