Well-liked American forward Wilson Kearney and Swedish adopted son Daniel Tellskär had gone, and only one footballer had come in their place. But he was no other than The Cooking Pot's new idol, Ola Martinsson. Smashing four in on his debut, the clinical Scandinavian sniper lit up the scoreboard in all but three matches that he participated in.

Even he could not lift Grilled in the Singapore Cup, as once more a Division Four slayer scalped the Birds. This time it was Serangoon entities total destruction, who reduced Grilled's youngsters to tears on a flooded ground. Yue Ying-hon's late brace sealed Grilled's fate.

Grilled remained very hard to beat in regular games, with the well-settled side now having a reliable outlet for goals. Martinsson piled them in, but his two goals wasn't nearly enough against a Frangky Manaf-inspired Bluedragon. The derby was a ferocious match, and eventually Joe Stern got a last-gasp equaliser to secure the all-important point. Grilled had defended their league title.

Grilled relaxed and FC GBR completed the double over them in the inconsequential last game. Their minds were definitely on their promotion qualifiers versus the redoubtable FC Tenochtitlán, an S-League long-timer. The Warriors had Thomas Wästertorp, certainly the top midfielder plying his trade in Singapore, but Grilled had their own strengths.

Romanian forward Liviu Oprea opened for FC Tenochtitlán, but Kek-Tjiang responded with a rare goal. Martinsson handed Grilled the lead before half time, and the Birds bit down and never looked back. They finished 3-1 victors at the Azteca Alcazar, once more closer to their destiny.