Bunbeg Get One
ZZ Awakens
Grilled Birds got through their second-round Cup match against IV.64 hosts Bunbeg FC without too much trouble, though the affiliates of established Australian outfit Roselands Football Club did make it interesting once in a while. Bunbeg's young local head coach Marc La went with a standard 4-4-2 formation, captained by veteran left winger Abhishek Mirza. 23 year-old Amogh Rao, who took the other flank, was arguably their top player of the day, what with star turns such as national youth goalkeeping prospect Helmy Zakariyya Muslihuddin not named for the match.
The Birds had not gone all out either in fairness, with 17 year-old forward
Zaini Zainuddin Junaidi finally making his official debut today, after three friendly starts. He would be the hardest runner in the early going at the Donegal Street Stadium, and the constant nipping at Bunbeg's relatively-inexperienced backline paid off in the fifteenth minute. Chong Beng Puay thought Neo Shun Tong understood his intent in feinting an advance against
Mason Glendinning then, but the 18 year-old hadn't, and Zaini slipped in to intercept and bend it around Kwa Jia Yun for the first goal.
Zaini's whirling celebrations were probably a little overboard - if understandable given his circumstances - and a quick-thinking
Genki Nagano had to spare him a possible yellow card by preventing him from removing his jersey. There would be another distraction soon in any case, as the home team failed to hold onto the ball from the restart, which had
Wu Ping De navigate his way up the left. Several Grilled players sloshed forward in support, and
Damian Hutter was the lucky recipient of Wu's driven cross for 2-0.
It had to be said that Bunbeg's The Bád Eddies fanclub never stopped cheering despite the setbacks in succession, and they would gamely whistle
Fu Wenlong for somewhat unsportingly flinging the ball away from Rao to delay a throw-in, four minutes later. Bunbeg's defensive potential would then go on display as they crowded out several Birds approaches, with
Lim An Keng forced to shoot from a disadvantageous position in the 31st minute, after an extended passing sequence petered out.
A third goal would arrive in the 39th minute though, this after
Kendell El Khateeb had done much of the work, in dribbling both Manoj Naik and Neo Shun Tong with immaculate close control. Goalkeeper Kwa Jia Yun did well to parry Kendell's powerful right-footer from under eight yards, but Low Chin Heng would not be able to clear decisively upon coming under immediate pressure.
Lim An Keng eventually dug a pass out to
Fu Wenlong, whose crisp finish was not greeted well by the home support.
That was half-time, and there would be few changes in the general direction of the game following the break. Bunbeg FC continued their focus on defending out of necessity, with the occasional ball played over the top for Leow Kian Keong generally going too long. Tay Yong Ming would have a little more success with his holding-up play, but not nearly enough, and it was
Lim An Keng to record the first shot on target of the second half in the 59th minute.
It got increasingly hard to keep one's footing on the slippery grass, and Tay Yong Ming was booked in the 67th minute for crashing into
Damian Hutter, after a tackle gone wrong. The match would be paused for several minutes as the Grilled medics attended to Hutter, before deciding that it was best to withdraw him. With no out-and-out defender named to the bench,
Chia Kwang Tse was instructed by
Dan Alstani to take Hutter's place, which he did adequately enough.
The restart had
Paulino Trindade test fullback Timmie Chen with a couple of cheeky runs, the second of which opened the field up for a decent short cross towards the near post. Kwa again got a hand to
Lim An Keng's improvised volley, but that was once more enough to clear the way for another scorer, with
Wu Ping De stylishly dancing past the blocking Manoj Naik for the fourth goal.
It wasn't all gloom for the home fans at least, as they enjoyed their consolation goal straight after Wu's strike. There didn't seem too much in Abhishek Mirza's early cross from behind the halfway line, but Tay Yong Ming managed to bully his way past
Fu Wenlong's marking for once here. It then became a desperate chase into the Grilled box, with
Radomil Marcol coming out a fraction too late to stop Tay's excellent grounder.
The Bunbeg supporters were taking this as a moral victory, from how they continued chanting about the goal even well after
Chia Kwang Tse had replied in turn, and the match concluded with Kwa earning additional plaudits for a diving save on a stiff Chia drive from twelve yards.
