Bayern Bundled
Shaky Advance
The Birds prevailed against Venezuelan Division Two representatives F.C Bayern München ! to reach the knockout stages of El Balon del Mundo, but made it harder for themselves than they had to. They allowed the flagbearer for the Amazonas region to claw two back after a lopsided first half, and only prompt feedback from the indefatigable
Low Aik Jia saved Grilled from a slip-up.
Despite only needing a draw, Bayern were not going to sit back and wait for it, and made clear their intentions to go for the win with three up front. Franco Mastino would play off the shoulder of
Gene Filippone off to the right. An untimely injury to star Uruguayan midfielder Orlando Romano meant that their midfield was probably not at its full glory, but Matthies Taubeck looked to make up for it by amping up the movement.
Romano, who had scored twice in Bayern's win over Paraguayos in the previous round, would nevertheless be sorely missed, as they never quite managed to feed their strikers with consistency. Grilled were not exactly rocking yet either, but their midfield would gradually push their counterparts back, with
Lee Lee Hao keeping them on their toes with his seemingly erratic decisions.
Grilled's biggest weapon remained without a doubt
Low Aik Jia, though, with Ángel Mesa perpetually reeling under his onslaughts. Low made the big breakthrough when he raced clear into Bayern's penalty area after 29 minutes, before serving it up on a plate for
Rinor Isufi, having taken out goalie Glauco Bozza.
Bayern's resolve only tightened at that, but Grilled were working up a head of steam too, with
Tian Yonghang putting up some sick controlling touches. Probably none was better than the no-look heel pass that sent Low clear to score in the 38th, and when
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim clobbered a volley in three minutes later, Bayern looked all but done.
They would collect themselves during the break, and punished the slightly-complacent Birds swiftly enough.
Wong Ping Shun, who had one of his rare downer days, allowed Dutch winger Haluk Daye in behind him with nary a protest, and Daye had no lack of targets as his teammates swarmed the box with little to lose. Benicio Mújica lined up his header with only token opposition, and
Wong Tian Han was well beaten by Mújica's excellent nod low to the far post.
Grilled had their chances to widen the lead after that, but would suffer from unwarranted overconfidence both times - first,
Rinor Isufi opted for the spectacular overhead from a cheeky free-kick when a simple header should have sufficed.
Tian Yonghang then fell prey to the same, when he made to round Bozza, when shooting early appeared the wiser choice; he wound up chipping it off the crossbar.
A comeback was then on the cards, after Cipriano Perrozzi knocked it in for 3-2, after a decent spell of possession for Bayern.
Yuki Irie wasn't happy with
Clément Meyer for missing the lead-up, and there appeared good odds that the Venezuelans could keep it up, and deny Grilled their place.
Low Aik Jia wasn't having it, however, and in a passionate defence of Grilled's prospects, tore up the left side in search of safety. Mesa was clearly unable to deal with him, and even Bayern skipper Karl Mazzarelli double-teaming Low made little difference. Soon, he had found a path to Isufi yet again, and the lucky Albanian once more only had to make contact to score.
Low wasn't done, but this time opted for the long pass. For him, this was one of those days when everything came off, though
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim could at least claim to have made a vital contribution, as he flew through the air to deliver a quite unorthodox full-frontal kick. It was enough to catch Bozza off, which put Grilled back to three to the good.
Bayern didn't know when they were beaten, and huffed till the final whistle, but Mazzarelli's late consolation was not enough to save their tournament dream.
