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| FIXTURE HISTORY |
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| Season 90 | L | 2 - 3 | Tournament (Group Phase) | | Season 89 | W | 4 - 2 | Cup | | Season 79 | W | 0 - 5 | Cup |
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The Real Deal
Marzuki Malus
The Birds advanced into the quarterfinals of the Sapphire Challenger Cup with a 5-1 pounding of II.4 side Virtuals P, also stopping their five-match unbeaten streak that had extended from a 0-3 away loss to former leaguemates Queenstown MZKs. The outcome was never in doubt after Grilled went three up themselves in the first fifteen minutes, but the Virtuals would make it more difficult after that - and crocked
Mohd Marzuki Khairul towards the end to boot.
VP would prepare for today with a 5-5-0 against International CAT F.C. on Sunday, that pulled Bulgarian sometime-forward Viktor Kutzarov to left wing. The well-attended game had Kutzarov score twice towards a 3-3 draw, but Romanian head coach Adrian Balotă saw fit to leave him on the bench today, as he stuck to his training priorities. This had their 19 year-old local midfield trio of Heng Aik Yao, Tham Yew Kian and TS Alva allowed to prove themselves, supported by former national youth player Balakrishnan Limaye on the right.
Badrul Zaman Limaye - no relation - would feature at left wingback on his 29th birthday, with Spanish veteran Rafael Romero Mora captaining the team from central defence, and New Zealand reserve goalkeeper Elvin Hartland keep his place over Turkish first-choice Adil Dilnaz. The Birds were definitely not complaining as they moved
Hisham Zubari and
Genki Nagano up as wingers, with
Chia Kwang Tse partnering
Fu Wenlong at the back.
If this was far from Grilled's optimal configuration, it remained more than sufficient against VP's chosen XI. The opponents had clearly set up to play on the counter, which was reasonable enough given how often the Birds had struggled against such tactics. Nobody informed
Chia Kwang Tse, though, as he appeared in the box against all formational sense in the third minute, and calmly tucked
Lim An Keng's incoming pass away.
Hartland would be furious at himself and his defence for letting one in so quickly, but the goalkeeper's day only got worse. The VP fans tried to will their team back into the mix, but a misunderstanding between former national U-20 defender Leong Beng Kian and defensive partner Bertrand Lim, would let
Chad Thach in for a simple second after twelve minutes. Grilled continued pressing forward, and
Hwang Teck Fu took full advantage of the backline's probably-warranted caution, to shoot and score from the edge of the box just three minutes on.
That was 3-0 to Grilled Birds, and it would be Virtuals P to suddenly look the more interested in bagging some goals for themselves. While this was of course easier said than done, they did put up a better show, with Rafael Romero Mora coming close with a powerful free-kick following a series of counters, 29 minutes in. There would be another as
Chad Thach shot wide on the restart, but Heng Aik Yao couldn't quite get his left-footer under control, after he had outpaced
Fu Wenlong on the break.
Virtuals P got their reward three minutes into the second half, and it would come from a set piece, as most of the spectators would have expected. Ergun Örsal settled for a corner against
Hisham Zubari, and Mora made the most of it with a solid delivery bent towards the far post area.
Radomil Marcol stretched awkwardly to make contact, but he couldn't quite hold on, and Bertrand Lim reacted first to shove the reducer home.
The VP fans reacted as if they believed a comeback was on, but their expectations would be sorely tested soon enough. The Birds resumed their prior composure, and it would become a matter of how many more they could add before time ran out.
Lim An Keng was ever on the lookout for goalscoring opportunities despite being planted in midfield, and he executed a fine give-and-go with
Ananda Hettiarachchi in the 58th minute, to open Elvin Hartland up for the finishing chip.
Ananda would be back with another assist eleven minutes later, coming directly after
Mohd Marzuki Khairul had a fine effort saved onto the crossbar by the VP custodian. A relieved-looking
Dan Alstani made his first substitution as his players crowded about
Hwang Teck Fu to celebrate his second goal, with
Aw Keng Chuan having to wait to relieve
Chia Kwang Tse, who had been one of the first to rush his longtime teammate.
It would be a sad end to the day for Marzuki, unfortunately, as he found himself on the wrong end of TS Alva's studs, having set himself to receive Aw's long pass on the restart. Referee Diego Quisbert, who had not had much to do for this half otherwise, considered his options for a long while, before settling for the yellow card. This was of little consolation to Marzuki, who had tried to stand up in order to resume the game, only to sit back down and call for the stretcher himself.
Damian Hutter would thus get a very rare chance to show what he could do in midfield, and truth be told there is a reason why he is registered as a defender in the squad list. He was good enough to get Grilled through the last twenty minutes or so either way, and after
Mason Glendinning got his cameo in place of
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko,
Ananda Hettiarachchi would be refused a parting gift, with Hartland reaching his diving header in the third and final minute of injury time.
