Screened Aside
Gaillot Guillotine
Security First would lift The Global Trophy after thrice coming back against the Birds, who emerged ahead after a breathless finish to the first half, only to lose it through the second. The finals was almost a highlight reel of Grilled's standouts of the season, but Security kept on their tail with a grim resolve, and prevailed.
The Austrian club had just won their Division Four league at a canter, their perfect 42 points being seventeen more than required, and this despite steadily shedding squad members through it. S$6.1 million Greek wing signing Argirakis Kantaifas was only their second buy of the campaign, coming a fortnight ago, and he wasn't even included in the rolls for today, after a run of bad form.
Brazilian head coach Guilherme José Japson did line up his players differently from the semis, switching from a 3-5-2 to a 4-4-2, adding Swiss centreback Ciriaco Bigi into the fray. Hannes Kornfeld and David Hauer would have to make way, leaving captain Robert Lin the mammoth task of doing the running for two.
Djan Bacelar engaged in upbeat banter with countryman Japson after watching their men file out, but it was all deadly serious after that; the early going saw
Ang Leong Kum apply a ton of pressure, linking up with
Tian Yonghang, but Lin just about preserved the stalemate on that end with his efficient tracking and direction.
There was no question who were the ones taking the initiative at this stage, and Grilled could legitimately be upset at taking thirty-six minutes to scrape together a first strike on target. On the bright side,
Gennady Dvorak's deceptively-slick toepoke would bend ever so slightly as it reached Andreas Zimmer, which was just enough to see it creep inside his left post.
If Grilled's advantage was short-lived, the overall excitement was just beginning to build - Security had their own back five minutes later, also with their first pot.
Wong Tian Han did well to tip it aside after a complicated set-piece that involved four passes before the intended killer pass to Hae-Won Lee, but he had no such luck with the ensuing corner. Guillaume Gadenne swivelled behind
Yuki Irie as it came in, to lock in just the right spot to rise for an unblockable bullet header.
This was a sea change from the often-dreary fare served up in the opening half-hour, and the fans had barely taken stock when Grilled went ahead again. Security's previously-vigilant defence were unprepared to handle a dodgy-seeming high ball from Ang, but they hadn't counted on
Clément Meyer attacking it with a near-fevered intensity. David Rojas Casas responded too late as Meyer beat Zimmer, clipping his flying header straight downwards and in.
The caution that had so pervaded the match had been well and truly cast off, and Grilled surged with victory in mind. They would quickly discover Security First's resilience firsthand, however, as far from being cowed, the Austrian team transitioned flawlessly after absorbing Dvorak's overbaked dribble. The Birds' defence was disassembled by Security's precision passing on the go, and nobody got close to Adrien Beudin when he came around from the left to outflank
Wong Tian Han.
For all that, it wasn't over yet. Even as the referee began to lift his whistle to his mouth, Grilled managed one last offensive wave in injury time. Despite pleas from the Security end, he decided to wait it out, and this would result in
Hoàng Trung Quá exhibiting his unexpected knack for scoring yet again, with a right-footed stinger that had more than one spectator gaping.
The gathered masses, who had been stunned into silence by the events of the last few minutes, only woke up at this, and the stadium was equal parts protest and ecstasy at what had happened. Japson rushed over to give the fourth official a piece of his mind at what he saw as an unwarranted extension of gametime, while Bacelar beckoned Tian over to get a headstart on his tactical reassignments.
He probably should have laid off them, on hindsight. Grilled's obvious shift towards containment severely blunted their edge, and Security First were encouraged to strike at their soft centre. After a period of pointless possession, an attempt to spread it wide to
Low Aik Jia went awry, and Hoàng had Yury Chen bearing down on him at pace. While he got the tackle off, the ball had already gone to Chinese forward Hae-Won Lee, who all but confirmed his Golden Boot with a simple and functional finish.
It was however still all up in the air as Grilled learnt from their mistakes, with
Tian Yonghang immediately calling for more directness and penetration from his colleagues. This was probably what they should have done all along, and they regained the active role. Hae-Won Lee himself would soon be forced into a crude challenge to prevent
Lee Lee Hao from slipping into open space, and was probably fortunate to stay on.
The tension that had so characterized the end of the first half soon returned, beginning with Pascal Jorge's overconfidence in his ball control abilities in his own half. Though he did fool
Yuki Irie with his smart turn, it was all for naught as
Ling Fuquan was waiting in the other direction. An instant release had
Hariharan Prabhu race clear on the right, and only Zimmer's fantastic flying save kept Grilled from taking the lead a fourth time.
Grilled nearly paid for that doubly, as Security brought it back up the centre in the style that had brought them their second goal. This time, it was big Belgian defender David Rojas Casas who was left to nod it in from five yards, but the close attentions of
Wong Tian Han and
Yuki Irie had him bang it against the bar, from which a sliding
Ling Fuquan barely cleared off the line.
Japson chose this time to shake things up, and subbed Yury Chen off for veteran winger Peter Kapeller. At first blush, this seemed unwise, as Security would totter under Grilled's renewed drive, as the Birds went full tilt trying to bring
Gennady Dvorak into play. Had it not been for Casas' courageous block, Zimmer would surely have been beaten by the Argentine's wild piledriver in the 73rd minute.
And then, the winner. Grilled's commitment to striking the final blow left them embarassingly exposed when it failed to land, and Security slashed down the shortest return path a third time. Instead of a multi-man maneuver, it was just Andreas Zimmer kicking it as far as he could - which was exactly what Thomas Gaillot was waiting for. Having lurked on
Ling Fuquan's line as his forwards retreated, the Frenchman made it a straight footrace - one that he couldn't lose.
This lightning counter left the Birds severely rocked, and Bacelar's only antidote was to bring
Zhao Jing Wei in for
Clément Meyer, in the hope of salvaging a draw for extra time. Sadly, while he would make no mistake on the ball, as he did against FC Barca, Zhao was unable to find that incisive final ball either, and it would be the side in white-and-blue stripes who would last the distance.
