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| FIXTURE HISTORY |
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| Season 92 | D | 0 - 0 | Tournament (Group Phase) | | Season 82 | W | 3 - 1 | Tournament (Group Phase) | | Season 78 | W | 0 - 2 | Friendly | | Season 74 | W | 3 - 1 | Tournament (Playoffs) | | Season 72 | W | 2 - 5 | Friendly |
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Bleu Fourth
Emperor And Prince
The Sapphire Challenger Cup final turned out to be a bit of an anticlimax at the end, as Grilled Birds spanked Farmer Bunnnies 5-0 to pick up a historic fourth Sapphire Challenger Cup, tenth Challenger Cup in total, and fourteen national-level cups - all local records.
Hwang Teck Fu would also become joint top-scorer of the competition alongside Glory Paradiso's Ajwad Mohd Raimi, after setting the Birds on their way with his fourth minute second-chance strike.
That evidently broke the self-belief of the Buns, who had lined up in a 5-4-1, possibly inspired by Beavers FC's recent success in a similar formation. This would be adapted by having an extra man at the back, also to cover for the reduced mobility of
Wee Liang Teck and
Arturo Rosano. Buns veterann forward
Ho Ah Kian, a day past his forty-two year-old birthday, was dealt the unenviable task of trying to find an opportunistic goal or two, with head coach
Vishnu Tallapaka quite candid about his intention to stall it out for penalties.
Dan Alstani was not about to settle for that lottery if he had any say about it, obviously, and he kept faith with the lineup that had done so well against Glory Paradiso - with the exception of
Hwang Teck Fu in for
Mohd Marzuki Khairul. This choice would be hotly debated by fans after the team sheets were released an hour before kick-off, but Alstani would be vindicated shortly after.
Aw Keng Chuan's lashed attempt from the left after three minutes would be parried side by
Gilberto Sorondo... but
Hwang Teck Fu barged his shoulder low into
Toh Eng Guang's as the ball dropped, and sent the now-loose ball into the back of the net!
Toh was definitely unconvinced that the challenge was legal, but referee Custódio Ranito had seen worse in his time, as it happened. There would be no review despite a red-faced Tallapaka close to throwing a tantrum of his own, and the game restarted with Bunnies now having a mountain to climb. Long balls out to
Ho Ah Kian were dealt with only too easily, and with eighteen minutes gone, it was
Chad Thach who nearly marked his own thirtieth birthday with a scorcher going inches over the bar.
Gilberto Sorondo would be fully engaged in directing his defenders from the back at this point, with Grilled's attacks coming in from all directions. A first Buns corner would be won by local winger
Lim Guang Qiang's wiles against
Wu Ping De in the 25th minute, but Ho smashed
Arturo Rosano's delivery into the back hoardings, admittedly under smothering coverage by
Hisham Zubari. The striker would sink to the pitch at the miss, evidently convinced that it was about the best opportunity he was going to get for the day. He was right.
The Birds were not slowing down, as they sought a second to to solidify their advantage. This was, as Alstani had recognized, not going to be easy against a Buns team set on defence, and it took a brilliant no-look reverse ball by
Lim An Keng to set
Chia Kwang Tse clear on the other side. Chia drove it back off the near post and upwards with Sorondo covering it, but
Ananda Hettiarachchi was the first to realise what had happened, and rushed over to clean up before either Sorondo or Wee found their bearings.
This was a huge blow that brought the Buns' chances to near-zero on various live betting websites, but they might yet have had an out. While still not at their best in defence, individual ability bailed them out more than once, as when
Arun Ponnusamy threw himself towards goal to hack
Chad Thach's 40th minute lob away, at the very last second. Ho then had his finest moment as he played the ball into
Genki Nagano for handball, but
Arturo Rosano sent it into the left upright with
Radomil Marcol barely moving.
Few could have imagined that the Buns could come back from that latest setback, and the mood amongst their supporters was almost funereal, as the teams filed back out for the second half in vastly different moods. The Birds had the liberty of dictating terms now, and they were content to tease their opponents for the most part, and launching offensives only when clear openings presented themselves. One such appeared for
Phillip Nagata after a botched
Amirul Jufri Khairil tackle, and the Grilled Number Seven scooted into the box unhindered, to lift a chip over the grounded Sorondo.
Wu Ping De had a near-identical effort from the other wing denied by
Wee Liang Teck two minutes later, but from the expressions on the Buns players, they knew it would make no material difference.
Guan Ming Kum quickened a few pulses with a brave solo run that brought Marcol into play in the 72nd, and
Chad Thach did so for less-admirable reasons after 79 minutes, after getting caught for a mean trip on
Amaya Ravula subsequent to the latter getting past him with a slick turn.
Vishnu Tallapaka made his substitution all too late, but
Dušan Václavík was not about to give it up, as he charged onto the pitch for the obviously-weary
Ho Ah Kian. The long throw-in after that stoppage reached
Phillip Nagata, though, and
Gilberto Sorondo had to be on his toes to ward the winger's powerful strike off. The corner would also be defended well, but
Genki Nagano gave it a third try with a short cross... that had
Wu Ping De open his Grilled account in some style with a magnificent overhead kick!
The celebrations from the Birds' sections were in full flow now, but the players were not done yet. After a brief stoppage for
Ananda Hettiarachchi to have his right calf examined, the match would restart with a long free-kick, that had
Hwang Teck Fu steam towards goal with
Arturo Rosano barely hanging on.
Gilberto Sorondo tried to position himself with several other Grilled attackers also making their moves, but it was for naught as Hwang centered it at the final instant, leaving
Lim An Keng an easy finish into the gaping net.
