Up We Go
Record Return
Grilled Birds secured automatic promotion back to the S-League before a near sell-out crowd at The Cooking Pot, against a Singapore Big Dogs side that attempted to counter their way to a result. This was always going to be a gamble for Big Dogs gaffer Edward Lock, from how they needed all three points to make it, and it didn't come off after some early breakaways had raised heartrates in Jurong.
Tickets had been all but sold out - and re-scalped - despite hazy conditions, with only a tiny fraction of no-shows after the gates closed. The Birds staff moreover had to deal with the aftermath of the U21 Nations Cup game between the Philippines and Kuwait that had been held here on Friday night, that had the former win out 2-0. They managed their task with alacrity, which had The Pot all ready for today's visitors from Orchard.
Singapore Big Dogs had appeared locked in for promotion back to the S-League, only for successive 1-1 draws against Ambush F.C. and then frunzelax to throw a spanner into the works. Considering this, one could hardly fault them for switching their gameplan up, seeing as to how often the Birds had fallen to a competent counter. Finnish veteran Fridolf Rosas would be the extra man in a five-man low block, with neither Niklas Sara nor Raivo Liim getting the nod as their target man in a 5-4-1. Instead, it was newcomer Bud Porter, making only his second official start for the club.
With captain Justine Deng and Thorsten Bradatsch out through injury, French defender Tanor Kanoute inherited the armband, as Kong Da Wan and Li Han Choon sat this out as Lock opted for Jonathan Bidwell and Neo De Han to defend the wings. Grilled for their part had only
Houssam Belhocine ineligible due to suspension, which had
Hisham Zubari in defence.
Mohd Marzuki Khairul would be entrusted with the critical midfield pivot role, with
Wu Ping De starting too.
Dan Alstani's final preparations might have been secret, but it was soon evident that and overabundance of caution was not part of the brief. Golden Boot candidate
Chad Thach had less patience than most, as he went at Rosas with the air of a man with everything to win.
Phillip Nagata gladly played him in with three minutes on the clock, and Thach smashed a vicious effort off the crossbar, if with Brazilian goalie Gonçalo Santa Clara probably having it covered otherwise.
The spectators were then reminded of how open the match remained, as
Genki Nagano struggled to recover after his free-kick towards
Chia Kwang Tse was headed well clear by Gábor Lengye in the eighth minute. Marek Palčík knew exactly who he was aiming for as Bud Porter raced Zubari upfield, and got away from the Birds defender right as the ball dropped. Zubari had done enough, fortunately, and
Radomil Marcol had an easy save to make as Porter had to hit it whilst off-balance.
Zubari was then next to have a shot on, after switching positions with
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko in the course of normal play.
Ananda Hettiarachchi gave it to him just outside the box, but the powerfully-hit half-volley zoomed a yard wide. The long goal-kick had the Big Dogs awarded the foul by Italian referee Claudio Sarri by Genki on Porter, and Kanoute got hearts in mouths with a raking strike that clattered first the left goalpost, and then brushed the right one, with Marcol only then smothering the ball.
This was high drama very early, but there would not be any respite for the fans yet, as Zubari got the game restarted at his goalkeeper's request. Despite their formation, the Big Dogs remained an offensive team at their core, and Piet Wanga could not adequately cover
Wu Ping De as the Birds winger sprinted past for the first goal. Even that did not slow the pace with
Phillip Nagata firing just over immediately after, which would however see Palčík slice past all comers on the return rush, before depositing the equalizer past Marcol with aplomb.
The Cooking Pot was absolutely buzzed right now, and yet there would be another twist in the tale, as the teams suddenly decided to tone it down as if by unspoken agreement. Neither had entirely expected to concede in such a way, so it seemed, and the rapid exchange had them reconsidering their tactics. Grilled Birds definitely had the initiative in holding some three-quarters of the possession throughout, and it took restraint by
Mohd Marzuki Khairul not to roll the dice after some exceedingly staid periods of ball-holding.
A draw, recall, would be entirely sufficient for the Birds to claim the league title, and therefore it was really up to the visitors to press their case. This was far easier said then done - especially when not having the ball - with the likes of 36 year-old Ivica Dušević further no longer possessing the legs to chase it down in midfield. Porter would try to fall back to help out in that respect, only to be shoo-ed back by his teammates, who understood that he was their best hope.
Alstani was well aware of the importance of spare energy as he put a fresh
Lim An Keng on for
Ananda Hettiarachchi before the second half, which was just what the Birds wanted. Lim was clearly out to make things happen, and his attacking instincts coupled with the vast expanse left behind by the opponents' lack of numbers in midfield had him succeed quite frequently.
Chia Kwang Tse admittedly did most of the work for Grilled's go-ahead second goal, though, as he squeezed between two defenders with impeccable footwork, before slipping the finish beyond Santa Clara too.
That had Singapore Big Dogs now requiring two goals, with little indication as to where those would come from. The expected kick-off rush brought no returns, and instead had
Hein Thiha Pyae Ko nearly kill off their chances as Grilled Birds ran the ball right back. It was more or less over after 66 minutes in any case, after Kanoute put in a weak challenge on
Hwang Teck Fu, that had the forward get through the Big Dogs backline cleanly. The goalkeeper came off his line, but a great second touch had Hwang overrun him too, and then it was just a matter of steering it into the empty net.
There were few doubts about how the match was ending after that, though another notable attempt did follow from Grilled in the 76th minute. Hwang had not entirely given up on the scoring title from how he continued to pressure the opposition defence, but his right foot let him down after trapping a long pass from Marzuki. The quick restart was lost to the midfielder soon, however, and Santa Clara got a real test from the Number Five, and passed it with a flying save.
