Laat Goals
Ten In Rotterdam
The Birds came away with a 7-3 result from Dutch V.29 leaders Laat ons voetballen, though they did not get to contend against their new strike pair of Reynald Dumouchel and Wellington Narvaez, recruited last month for near S$15 million. Instead, Spanish veteran Cristian Osca headlined the hosts' attack in a wide 3-5-2, with 24 year-old Amsterdam native Wilibrord Worms bossing midfield together with Hessel Peutz and Perry Land. Chilean centreback Emilio Balbontín captained Laat, but would be found somewhat wanting soon enough.
Grilled's 3-5-2 was much narrower with effectively three central defenders and tucked-in wingers, before getting to the lesser-seen sight of
Chad Thach deployed at left wing. The underperforming Number Ten made the most of his opportunity to convince the coaching staff for that, even if his day did not start very promisingly as he got carded in the third minute for dissent. There was no spite from Italian referee Silvio Portas however, as he readily blew to acknowledge Thach's successful chip over Belgian custodian Noam Beuten two minutes later.
The Thach-and-go show wasn't over yet, as he nearly headed a Laat cross past his own goalkeeper in the 17th minute, about which
Dahan Bok could see the funny side of after keeping it out.
Jerome Crawford was not one to waste a good counterattacking possibility, and he ran it out of the box to release
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko in turn. Twenty seconds later,
Paulino Trindade would bear down on Beuten at the tail-end of a sixty-metre charge, and he held out for long enough to put a banger into the net for 2-0.
Mohd Marzuki Khairul followed that up with a slick finish from
Hwang Teck Fu's well-considered assist about three minutes later, as Hwang really got into his role as a creator today. He wasn't nearly as good pushing up, though a stinger from the edge of the box had Beuten flying across goal to save it in the 31st minute. That led to Laat's first goal on the return, as homegrown right winger Tahir Kabli outpaced the retreating
Fu Wenlong, before slipping the ball onto Cristian Osca.
Kabli then further reduced the deficit to 2-3 a couple of minutes on, if with
Dahan Bok furiously protesting a supposed touch by his right forearm upon
Jerome Crawford's challenge for Jorian Bemelmans' delivery. The replays proved inconclusive, however, and Portas eventually allowed the goal to stand to much approval from the home crowd.
Grilled Birds started the second half with a double substitution, bringing
Chia Kwang Tse and
Mohsen El Khateeb on for Kendell and Crawford. The brothers had barely done with their high-five when
Hwang Teck Fu drove the ball deep into the heart of Laat's half, and
Mason Glendinning found himself freed following
Lim An Keng's early run across the box. Beuten saw the danger and rushed the young forward, but not before Glendinning had got his chip off for 4-2.
The pace of the game would slow as the players settled into a groove, if with the visitors retaining the bulk of possession. A penalty was awarded in the 64th minute after Chia got bundled over by Bosso Prigent in a scramble for the ball, which
Fu Wenlong confidently hit inside the right post. It was 6-2 four minutes later as the otherwise-quiet
Lim An Keng pounced on brief hesitation from the defenders, on an ambiguously-placed square pass.
It wasn't Hwang's day as Gerwin van der Leegte blocked his fierce effort off the line in the 77th minute, and the match appeared to be easing to a half... when
Mason Glendinning lit the stadium up with a magnificent overhead kick right before stoppage time. Laat did find a third consolation soon, as Bosso Prigent flew past Mohsen to clip it past
Dahan Bok.
