Nailbiter In The West
Da Parafita Hovering
Grilled Birds concluded the first half of the league campaign with victory at The Cooking Pot, but FC Jurong Rovers made it as close as it realistically could have been, as they ran the Birds all the way to a 6-5 scoreline this cloudy day. Grilled would further lose
Hwang Teck Fu for the Ruby Challenger Cup semifinals, after an untimely third yellow card for the season.
The latest fixture between the twain had not been that long ago, and had featured
Ananda Hettiarachchi bagging a very late brace to secure Grilled the result. Rovers' Ukrainian boss Olexiy Gubiy adjusted from the mirror formation then, to a 3-5-2 with Spencer Bryan joining fellow Brit Arthur Burns in midfield. Tommaso Deidda was added as Gubiy went with three at the back, with UAE national prospect Khalfan Al-Mukhaithi now partnered by former Hong Kong U-20 international Woo Jieyong.
Grilled Birds' biggest lineup mystery had been whether
Leongīns Luško would make his full debut in this derby, but it was
Hisham Zubari starting alongside
Johann Schwietzer instead. That left very few choices to make as
Mohd Marzuki Khairul got deployed in central midfield, but supporters did have to feel for
Wu Ping De, as São Tomé e Príncipe backup
Paulino Trindade was selected over him at left wing.
There would not be much time for the stadium commentators to analyze
Dan Alstani's decision, with the opening goal arriving in just the second minute. Schwietzer did not do his contract extension odds much good as he stepped up a second too late against Khalfan Al-Mukhaithi, having mistimed the release of Stefan Brogaard's through pass. Mukhaithi was not one to get such an opportunity go begging, and duly sent it to the far post with
Radomil Marcol's impressive doing of the splits unable to deflect the shot.
It got worse for the Birds before it got better, as the visitors continued lording it at The Cooking Pot.
Hwang Teck Fu was his usual assertive self, recording his first shot on target in the eleventh minute against Petar Panović - only to be booked for catching the goalkeeper in his right thigh in the process. Hwang seemed to realise what that meant only as Italian referee Giorgio Pannocchia jogged up with card in hand, and would never quite regain his mojo after that.
FC Jurong Rovers then went two goals up in the 23rd minute as captain Spencer Bryan made
Ananda Hettiarachchi look to have a bad matchup for once, with his non-stop movement ably coupled by frightening acceleration. This combination created a great chance for Woo Jieyong, who couldn't miss either. Rovers' momentum would only be slowed by Ananda six minutes later, as he spotted
Mohd Marzuki Khairul making his way through the Rovers backline, and found him with a waist-high assist for 2-1.
Rovers continued to look like keeping the lead at half-time, before perhaps the most astonishing final five minutes of the first half that the stadium had seen for some years. Grilled Birds had settled inside the opposition half for once, but there appeared no getting through as
Chad Thach approached gingerly with the ball from the right side. The former national star had not been known for his left foot, but there was no questioning the class of the curler that he unleashed past Panović from the corner of the penalty area.
There were plenty more twists and turns to come in the few minutes remaining, as Maltese wingback Jordan Bondin first got Rovers back in front, and threw a few meaningful fistpumps at the home fans as he wheeled towards the corner flag.
Radomil Marcol knocked the ball right back to the centre circle for the restart, though, and the visitors were not prepared for
Chad Thach doubling up on the left flank.
Chia Kwang Tse further drew Arthur Burns aside, allowing Thach to equalize for the second time in four minutes.
It was not even over yet, as Rovers' own attempted invasion from their kick-off came to naught, with
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko making a critical tackle on Brogaard as he made to sprint at goal. A long ball out found
Hwang Teck Fu recovering some of his usual spirit with a stand-up shielding job against Eugen Wallau, before he played it into space for
Hisham Zubari to do his best Bilal Mohammad Harun impression. The bullet drive gave Panović no chance, and Grilled Birds were ahead for the first time!
The amazing recovery had a section of the home fans dancing through the interval, which they were happy enough to keep up for the cameras. That said, the visiting supporters didn't appear too down either, and rightly so with the game still looking very much open. It got a bit less so as the Birds started the second half with a bang, and the otherwise understated
Johann Schwietzer would sweep their fifth goal home four minutes in, after
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko orchestrated a complex passing move.
While the Rovers could still take heart in Grilled Birds having themselves come back from two goals down, it really didn't feel as if they would be able to pull off the same at this point, with Grilled hogging possession. An emboldened
Hisham Zubari was not too far away with another twenty-yarder in the 55th minute, with
Chia Kwang Tse finding the net from a cut-in against Tommaso Deidda soon after.
Rovers head coach Olexiy Gubiy had been looking very concerned for a while now, and he finally made his tactical change on that, withdrawing the dependable but not overly incisive Arthur Burns for Romanian midfielder Cătălin Papuc. This had an immediate effect, as FC Jurong Rovers broke through from Jordan Bondin's long throw on the restart. Stefan Brogaard was once more the catalyst as he beat
Paulino Trindade on the wing, quickly poking it on for actual winger Anatolio da Parafita, who slipped past Zubari to reduce.
The Spanish magician would be back at it barely three minutes later, as Grilled Birds suddenly looked very shaky down their left side. Quite incredibly, it would be the same pair and
modus operandi, if with
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko unable to prevent Brogaard's dribble either.
Mohd Marzuki Khairul came flying in with a brave blocking attempt as Da Parafita would up for the shot, but neither he nor
Radomil Marcol were able to get to the exactly-weighted chip.
With the Birds' advantage now cut to a single goal, the final half an hour would have all present on the edges of their seats, because after eleven goals in barely more than an hour, surely there had to be quite a few more to come? The match was not done throwing up its share of twists, however, and the teams would abruptly rediscover the wisdom of caution, with next to no serious advances for ten minutes after Anatolio da Parafita's second goal.
This had Gubiy attempt another tactical masterstroke, bringing big Peruvian centreback Fang Kunlong on for Eugen Wallau, apparently with a view towards high balls in their final push. That would not come off with Grilled Birds largely containing their visitors in their own half, however, and Alstani would slow-walk his triple substitution towards the end.
