Kölsch Extension
Everybody Gets Some
For their first friendly game of the new season, Grilled Birds accepted the invitation of Kyrgyzstani II.3 club FC Kölsch Bishkek to visit their blue-blazoned seventy-five thousand-odd seater Hans Viol Arena, which drew about 5500 for the exhibition.
Dan Alstani was finally free to throw out something new, which was a 3-5-2 boasting the young duo of
Kendell El Khateeb and
Mason Glendinning up top. The off-form
Lim An Keng would get his exercise in midfield, with
Mohsen El Khateeb,
Damian Hutter and
Dahan Bok also allowed to prove themselves.
The hosts' Polish boss Krzysztof Oleśków wouldn't take it too seriously either, with German defender Bernhard Trochim one of the few regulars to make an appearance, in his case after being dropped for the weekend's league fixture. 21 year-old local right winger Isroil Mullajanov was a draw as always, with Chinese veteran Ha Changrong - formerly of Shanghai's NiXu - lacing up beside him. Long-serving Italian custodian Jimmy Bubbi kept goal, and had a busy day indeed!
This was evidently going to be another counterattacking exercise by Bishkek, and they wouldn't take long to confirm that they knew what they were doing. The Birds were having issues retaining possession further afield, and it was all Kendell could do to ease past French centreback Michaël Martineau in the eighth minute, with his forced lob brushing the woodwork. The rebound was lifted long to Vilmos Jenei waiting wide left, and Swedish forward Severin Ragnfeldt stabbed it past
Dahan Bok within seconds of the turnover.
Their second goal would also be a similar story, although it took a little longer for Martineau to find Mullajanov for the ten-yard volley, which got the home faithful leaping to their feet. Before that, Martineau had been left to wander well over the half-way line after Bubbi had smothered
Mohsen El Khateeb's hopeful attempt from a tight angle, which had Lim admonish his forwards for not pressing him back early.
The Number Eight had always subscribed to the school of setting an example, but it took some time before he got his opportunity. The lack of understanding with his forwards was evident, and it took a sly slicing ball from
Ananda Hettiarachchi 33 minutes in, to finally unlock the home defence. Lim would establish himself as the Birds' main ball-carrier for the remainder of the half, which got him brutally clipped by Vilmos Jenei three minutes from the break. Referee Jacques van Homoet appeared to be considering the red card, before letting Jenei off.
The second half started slowly but well for Grilled Birds, as they meshed noticeably better compared to before. The greatest improvement would be observed with the young front two, with
Kendell El Khateeb rewarded for his indefatigable running, in burying the save off
Mason Glendinning's drive with emphasis. The game was wide open now, with Ionuţ Horga's go-ahead goal three minutes on in the 66th, followed by
Fu Wenlong's plastering
Hisham Zubari's assist unstoppably into the top corner, scarce two minutes later.
Genki Nagano then tried to get in on the fun, but his bullet header off
Damian Hutter's delivery crashed against the left upright, and was immediately hacked away.
While this remained a friendly, it was clear that neither team wanted to lose it now, with the uncommon Birds setup encouraging plenty of improvisation. Ha Changrong was booked in the 76th minute for a high tackle on
Paulino Trindade, and Lim's quick free-kick set
Mason Glendinning up for 4-3, which the young lad certainly enjoyed. This latest lead lasted but four minutes in keeping with recent history, as hometown favourite Meykul Furkat Uulu wowed with his determined run past first Ananda and then
Mohsen El Khateeb, before placing it between
Dahan Bok's legs!
No winner in regular time was to be had, and
Dan Alstani refreshed his lineup for extra time by rotating
Mohd Marzuki Khairul and
Markus Pallas in for Glendinning and Mohsen. Marzuki's inclusion might have been thought to be slightly unsporting, but the attending fans didn't seem to mind, after all the revelry that had been served up. They did demand Polish striker Marcin Woźniakiewicz to enter the game too, but Oleśków wouldn't take the bait.
Grilled would claim the initiative with FC Kölsch Bishkek sitting even deeper, and
Hisham Zubari manufactured the first clear chance of the period from the right side in the 98th minute - only for Bubbi to knock
Kendell El Khateeb's goalbound nod aside. The goalkeeper was at it again six minutes later, as he confronted
Fu Wenlong's fifteen-yard free-kick. The first went in, but the referee had not yet blown his whistle, and Fu's second try went right into the defensive wall.
Penalties didn't seem an unlikely outcome at this point, and from how the goalkeepers had performed, one had to favour the hosts had it gone to that. It turned out unnecessary as
Paulino Trindade got past Ionuţ Horga on the inside to feed
Genki Nagano for Grilled's fifth goal in the 109th minute, however, and
Mohd Marzuki Khairul made doubly sure with his cheeky lob about three minutes later. Jimmy Bubbi appeared to have kept that one out too, but replays indicated that the ball had marginally crossed the goalline, making it 6-4.
