Big Dogs Have Day
King Kong
This clash of the reigning Ruby and Sapphire Challenger Cup holders would be won by the former, as Singapore Big Dogs pulled off a magnificent wing-based offensive to dismantle a sorry-looking Birds XI, six goals to two. Neither Grilled's stellar cup final record, nor their historical advantage over the Big Dogs, could prevent the Orchard-based S-League side from claiming the Emerald trophy for the second time.
Local veteran turned head coach Edward Lock had exhibited considerable tactical flexibility in being thrown in against the deep end, as he played a credible counterattacking 5-3-2 against Singapore Cup champions HEBFC Tonners FC over the weekend. He would revert to their usual 3-5-2 for their own finals, with Kong Da Wan serving as their central pivot - a role he fulfilled to perfection today. His academy buddy Li Han Choon would link midfield with attack, with 36 year-old Chilean goalkeeper Tomás Vidaurre responsible for keeping the Birds at bay.
As for
Tian Yonghang, he would keep with his habit of introducing star debutants in the finals, with Hong Kang Leong and then
Darko Andrović making successful entrances in his previous Sapphire Challenger Cup coups. Today, it would be former Sentoza Springboks man
Hisham Zubari, to resume his partnership with ex-Arcturules teammate
Genki Nagano in defence. This of course meant that both club captain
Ha Qicai and free-kick specialist
Raúl Himadas had to start on the bench, but Tian evidently felt that circumstances warranted introducing an all-new back two at this lofty stage.
Myanmar playmaker
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko, who had just turned 27 years old yesterday, would be back too, with there being otherwise very little of note in the Birds lineup, with the exception of
Chia Kwang Tse being left in reserve. It was quickly obvious that neither team had the patience to wait this one out, and after six minutes, Italian right winger Sandro Lauri had the beating of an overconfident Andrović along the touchline. Hein's recovery was unconvincing, and Lauri's delightful cross sailed just over Genki for Ivica Dušević's thumping header!
Radomil Marcol had certainly not expected the opposition sweeper to have made it all the way upfield, but he elected not to dampen the mood yet in exhorting his players onward. This would prove a wise approach as the Birds proved themselves well capable of overrunning the Big Dogs' lines too, with
Lim An Keng holding Stéphane Salliot off to force a pass through to
Hwang Teck Fu within two minutes. Hwang's elevation to centre-forward had sound backing, as it turned out, with Piet Wanga bouncing off him before he slotted past Vidaurre.
The late arrivers could only curse their luck as experienced Portuguese referee João Germano Lindeza restarted the match a second time, with neither team allowing their conceding early to affect their vibe. The defining battle would be between Kong Da Wan and
Aw Keng Chuan in midfield as they sought to impose their will on each other, with the balance finally broken in the 28th minute by Stéphane Salliot's nifty assist for Lauri. Grilled answered in kind through captain
Darko Andrović's frighteningly direct run three minutes later, however, which must have brought memories of Grilled's double season back for the Birds' older fans.
Any comparisons would stop here, sadly, as it would be Singapore Big Dogs who worked their strengths more frequently. Solid as the Birds were with their central focus, the Big Dogs more often than not had them at their mercy whenever they constructed isolation plays from out wide, and this had them 4-2 up by half-time. This had Genki and Zubari supprepriously confronted with two-on-ones several times, from which former Ivory Coast youth international Blekan Bamba and then the redoubtable Kong Da Wan scored in turn.
Radomil Marcol would finally lose his cool after Kong had slipped inside
Hisham Zubari on the left with Grilled's midfielders not having spotted his move in time, as the Birds appeared to realize that they were in real trouble only after that. Singapore Big Dogs were understandably content to take it easy in coasting to half-time, with their supporters in the stands rewarding the team with an extended ovation as they retired to the dressing room.
Tian Yonghang knew that he had one hack of a rescue mission on his hands now, and seeing as how the Birds lined up for a mass charge from kick-off, they had at least not lost their chutzpah. The Birds looked in trouble for a moment there as Boris Agger cleared smartly under pressure to Jonathan Bidwell, threatening a fast break, but
Brian Reddy dispossed Bidwell and bent it towards
Lim An Keng at the near post. Lim would somehow direct it towards goal with Lukas Marxer sticking to him like a limpet, only for Tomás Vidaurre to keep it out with a flung-out knee.
Gandhik Chitre knew how important that chance was to the Birds' hopes, as he squatted in agony several yards behind Lim, but the wind was fortunately still behind their backs yet. Grilled held on to possession with the Big Dogs instinctively seeking to protect their lead by dragging it out, which they were doing quite a passable job of. Grilled responded the only way they knew how - by saturating the centre - which had
Hwang Teck Fu given a brief glimpse in the 58th minute after
Chad Thach's off-the-ball distraction. Hwang opted for the lob with Tomás Vidaurre off his line, and it could have gone in had he just put a tiny bit less behind it.
Alas, a miss by inches was as good as a mile for Hwang, and the match would be stopped by Lindeza once it sailed over, for
Brian Reddy to receive treatment. The Birds winger was laid out along the right touchline, and replays soon revealed the reason: Dutch fullback Piet Wanga had clattered into his ankle, having blindly followed through on his missed sliding tackle on Chitre. That had to be a card, and Lindeza settled for a yellow.
The Grilled faithful near the incident had been screaming for a red, and in all honesty, the Birds probably needed that to have any shot at all of overturning Singapore Big Dogs' lead. Unfortunately for them, everything went to pieces on the free-kick, with Zubari scooping it square towards Aw in an ill-advised decision. That would be picked off by Blekan Bamba and flighted towards the sprinting Kong Da Wan, and
Genki Nagano just couldn't catch the Number Eight, as he drew Marcol out by the book for Big Dogs' fifth goal.
The Birds knew they were done now, but kept going to their fans' approval.
Aw Keng Chuan sprayed a thirty-yarder through to
Lim An Keng in the 74th minute, but the Big Dogs' backline had again taken note, and guided the forward into another overhit lob from just outside the penalty area. In contrast, Kong Da Wan would make it all about himself with a blazer that
Radomil Marcol couldn't hold onto for his hat-trick in the 84th, with both Lim and Kong then having final efforts blocked by defenders before the end.
