Got Hammered Lost Keyns
Bigfoot Stomps
The Birds went down in a close 1-2 defeat to English Division Two club Keynsham Town, as the pride of Avon & Somerset prevailed in a cagey and halting affair. There were no secrets as Israeli player-coach Erez Amikam selected the same eleven that had done the job in the first round against The Drunken Butterflies, and it would happen to produce the same outcome, down to the scoreline.
Although
Tian Yonghang was not being falsely modest when he said he believed Grilled to be the underdogs before the match, they definitely exceeded their usual level in the first half, perhaps spurred by the level of competition on offer.
Ang Leong Kum was particularly creative in midfield, but Amikam's expert marshalling from the back ensured that Keynsham would seldom encounter actual trouble.
It would take some individual wizardry to pry Keynsham's practised defence apart, and
Rinor Isufi was on hand to provide just that in the 24th minute. With the opposition backline having everything covered as theory prescribed, Isufi went for the blunt option, and sped forward headlong after laying it off to Ang. Ang understood and played the immediate through pass, which Isufi stroked past Mexican goalkeeper Federico Calzada after a controlling touch.
The energized Birds could have added another in the very next minute, but Tian just couldn't get his rushed volley down an additional foot or two. It was then Keynsham's turn to parade their shooting ability, with Italian team captain and former caretaker coach Gian Carlo Danesi sending
Valentin Batâr scurrying, with his thirty-yard scorcher.
Those were about the only chances of note for the half, as it happened, with Keynsham refusing to compromise on their defensive solidity. Their priority on maintaining shape had Grilled's attack more-or-less neutralised outside those two goal attempts, but at the cost of limiting their own offensive options.
They were also only going to be getting better at that, and if Grilled had been starved before, it was only going to get worse. Danesi would keep their engine running over, and with 33 year-old forward Laurence Scheidler pulling
Gene Filippone hither and thither, an equaliser always looked to be in the works.
It would arrive after 54 minutes, but from a relatively unexpected source. Batâr had gotten the better of a couple of earlier Giulio Cerino efforts, but he had no chance when rightback Hennig Binzer unleashed a screamer straight into the top corner, after bringing it inside.
In a testament to the Birds' tenacity, they nearly regained their lead from this near-hopeless general situation. After being more or less completely shut out from the Keynsham penalty area,
Gennady Dvorak somehow threw Máté Izsó off his tail, and fought his way onto Tian's gambled blind pass. Unfortunately, he failed to keep it on target.
Still, there was more than a sliver of hope that Grilled could take a point, but these thoughts were dashed by Polish winger Więcław Muzyczka in the 77th minute. Known for his outsized Size 16 boots, he proved that they were no impediment to sheer acceleration, as he blew past both
Neeraj Muthyala and
Gene Filippone to score.
There was clearly no way back for the Birds after that, with Amikam shutting up shop with an accustomed finality, which left them staring at an early exit to the Plan 9 Cup.
