Becalmed On The Beach
Schwietzer Concern
The Birds advanced on their long-awaited return to the Ruby Challenger Cup, getting past III.8 leaders Strifer for the second time in three seasons. 34 year-old Swiss defender
Johann Schwietzer will however likely be unavailable for league duties over the weekend, after sustaining a thigh injury early in the second half.
Strifer had been making the rounds of Division Three since their Singapore Cup exit to Grilled Birds, shifting to III.9 after winning III.12 that season, and then back to the previous III.8 after finishing two points behind kaloons. They have gone a perfect five wins from five in the league thus far, which with Sunday's 2-1 away win at Brotherhood SG has stretched their winning streak to seven games. Head coach Deng Chuan Li stayed with his trademark 3-4-3 system, with Leon Maksimyuk and BN Ramisetty preserving a constant identity on the right wing. Previous goalscorer Aage Vorgaard was not in the squad, though, with his last appearance being on National Day against PC Rovers 2.
Chad Thach would be given an opportunity to replicate his previous hat-trick as he was deployed in right attack, but the City club kicked off with an assurance born of sustained success. German central midfielder Rüdiger Gräselberg had filled Felipe Colip's boots quite adequately since the latter's departure for Spain's Sildavya on wage concerns, and Grilled had difficulties asking questions of Swiss custodian Stelvio Porcellini.
Phillip Nagata was the first to do so after
Chia Kwang Tse cut back outside on a blocked run thirteen minutes in, and was perhaps unlucky to see the shot ring off the goalpost.
No luck for
Hwang Teck Fu in the 27th minute either, as
Mohd Marzuki Khairul drove past Malaysian counterpart Ramisetty to open up the passing angle, as Estonian defender Gennadiy Khairulin forced Hwang off his stride at a critical moment. Marzuki finally got it done going it himself three minutes later, as the Birds' relentless pressure afforded him room to operate deep inside the Strifer box.
Chad Thach called for the pass, but Marzuki went for the spectacular with a diagonal lob over Porcellini - that worked out.
That shifted the character of the match with Strifer now falling back on the defensive more, as
Chia Kwang Tse continued venting with an extra-aggressive approach, which brought him a yellow card in the 37th minute after an extended shirt-pulling struggle with Jairo Bohórquez. Ironically, a free-kick would be awarded for Grilled in almost the same spot within a minute, and
Johann Schwietzer clipped it home just under the crossbar for two-nil.
Strifer's best chance of the game - a heartstopping solo rush by Leon Maksimyuk past three men - followed shortly after, but
Radomil Marcol earned his keep with a calm save from the eight-yard strike. Half-time brought the end of
Mohd Marzuki Khairul's participation as
Dan Alstani replaced him with
Lim An Keng, which was however a canny switch from how Lim set
Chia Kwang Tse up almost immediately after coming on.
He didn't take long to find the net himself either, receiving as he gave with
Ananda Hettiarachchi leaving him with an obvious finish, from an incisive cutback after fifty minutes. The game would then become more muddled as Strifer sought to regain some measure of influence, helped by Spanish captain Miguel Ángel León Buendia dropping deeper. This revival ended with Jacobo Antonia's high tackle on
Johann Schwietzer 62 minutes in, that had Grilled's Swiss stopper having to go off with a gashed thigh.
Referee Antón Martínez Díez waved Buendia's appeals aside as he considered his judgment, before sparing Antonia with his second booking of the day. Grilled Birds' response was visceral and prompt, with Chia and Lim powering their respective second goals past Stelvio Porcellini within the next four minutes, as the Birds poured their energies into head-on assaults.
Their coaching staff retained calmer heads, and
Dan Alstani sought to manage risks by withdrawing
Hwang Teck Fu with fifteen minutes to go, over the centre forward's protests. This gave
Kendell El Khateeb only his second competitive appearance for the campaign since his start against Bunbeg FC towards the end of last month, though his off-frequency runs might suggest why.
The game would thus be headed towards a staid finish, before
Chia Kwang Tse decided that he wasn't done yet. With three minutes of added time indicated, Chia would start it off with an abrupt pull forward that drew
Ananda Hettiarachchi into a supporting run, and nearly found his hat-trick with a first-time strike from Ananda's final ball... that came off the bar in the end. Ukrainian forward Leon Maksimyuk, now on defensive duty, got to the rebound marginally ahead of Chia, who got himself unceremoniously sent off for his late sliding tackle on Maksimyuk.
