Rain On Parade
Chad Reveal
The Birds tuned up for their Sapphire Challenger Cup final with a 4-1 return at Sweet Science Arena against Controlar, who found themselves playing reactively for too much of the contest. This was reflected in the postgame statistics of eight chances for Grilled Birds to their single one, although Tan Keng Kwang did come good from that.
Young fullback Hasnawi Mohd Furqan had left Controlar for Cuban third divisioners Färjestaden two days ago, putting paid to speculation about whether head coach David Nohales would give him a tryout today. It was testament to their underlying support that over forty-two thousand showed up despite the all-day shower - and the 1-5 defeat last weekend. Nohales made one change from that lineup, with winger Dávur í Niðristovu making way for reserve midfielder Chan Chee, who was deployed as a fourth central midfielder tucking in from the right.
Dan Alstani for his part would restore
Mohd Marzuki Khairul to the attack with
Hwang Teck Fu taken out, and start
Fu Wenlong in place of
Hisham Zubari, who was on two yellows.
Radomil Marcol would also be saved for the final, with Greek backup
Dimitris Germanakos selected for his first game in a while. It was soon clear that the Birds were spending a lot more time than usual spreading the ball out wide, possibly to minimize time spent in the more-waterlogged middle.
Phillip Nagata wasn't complaining either, and he wove past Li Loong Siong in the seventh minute to set
Ananda Hettiarachchi up for the opener.
The pace slowed considerably after that, and not wholly intentionally, what with the intensity of the rain managing to increase; all that happened up till the 29th minute was a booking for
Genki Nagano after he crashed into Felix Freital in the 24th, but Nagata heated it up then with a swirling cross straight to
Lim An Keng. Pedro Vasco Conceição Correia pummeled the forward's header well away, but only to
Ananda Hettiarachchi at the edge of the box - and the 26 year-old Sri Lankan star had the presence of mind to spot
Chad Thach unattended in the box. 2-0!
This was a repeat of last Sunday thus far, which did not bode well for the hosts, who were moreover missing í Niðristovu's invention on the touchline. Instead, it would be Chee staying on
Wu Ping De, who nonetheless kept up a steady supply into the Controlar penalty area. Gao Xiangyun had to take a yellow card for blocking
Mohd Marzuki Khairul on one of those, but the stoppage turned out to be in his side's favour. Brad Yuen got a sustained attack going from midfield for once, and Tan Keng Kwang caught
Dimitris Germanakos in mid-rush, to get one back.
That had the partisan home crowd baying for an equalizer - and more, but it turned out but a blip for the visitors, who soon continued pulling the strings. The hosts' Patrik Kojecký and Davizinho Mourão Barbosa had adapted to Grilled's more-expansive style somewhat, but this was not enough especially with Wu pinging them in like it was going out of fashion. Håkan Ångwald stayed locked on
Chad Thach, but there was simply nothing that could be done about the Number Ten's stunning bicycle kick in the 79th minute.
Even the home fans could hardly grouch about that goal, but Thach was not done yet. Correia had to use his full length to keep
Lim An Keng's exactly-weighted curler from finding his far post two minutes later, but Controlar would again regret not being able to clear their lines definitively. Barbosa tried to find Freital, but only hacked it to
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko, who immediately volleyed it back to Thach for his hat-trick!
The game would be paused for Spanish referee Pablo Monleón to determine whether Thach was offside, which turned out an easy decision after replays showed that Li had stayed back on the far left. A triple substitution had
Paulino Trindade,
Damian Hutter and
Mohsen El Khateeb on in the last minute, which still left enough time for
Genki Nagano to test Correia's concentration with a well-hit try from fifteen yards.
