The crowd turning up at the stadium today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain. For strong, physical players the heavy rain was easy to overcome, it was even an advantage given their style of play. Others, such as the quick or technical ones, made bleaker appearances. Starters: Cikatić - Gątkowski, Văsieş - López González, Eijkelkamp, Linklett, Voiculescu, Totolici - 海民 (Haimin), Szwedowski, Carbarău.

They fielded: Germanakos - Keng Chuan, 其材 (Qicai) - Reddy, Thach, Kwang Tse, Khairul, Parada - Reece, Thoroddsen, Tokarz.

The teams stopped and stared at each other - it was like they were looking in a mirror, since they both lined up in a 2-5-3 formation. Vaxus decided to play creatively. After more pushing and shoving than a pack of helicopter moms trying to get the last appointment for their snowflakes to see the Easter Bunny, Grilled's Mohd Marzuki Khairul finally got himself booked for a foul. You can tell Federico Parada practices his free kicks. 8 minutes into the match, he hit a perfect one and made the score 0 - 1. A wonderful trick by Birgir Linklett after 14 minutes left 夏 (Ha) 其材 (Qicai) bewildered and really deserved to end in a goal but the keeper made a fine save. 18 minutes in Vaxus probably could have turned their free kick into a shot, but went for a cross instead. Unfortunately, Liviu Voiculescu jumped too late and the ball was redirected out for a goal kick. Grilled will have to work out a different routine for indirect free kicks. Though it looked well-rehearsed, their play after 24 minutes was easily anticipated by the opposition and the attackers simply had nowhere to go. The home fans looked somber as they watched their team give up another goal, this one coming from their right as Gústav Thoroddsen put one through the keeper's legs. 0 - 2 after 26 minutes. 30 minutes into the match, the referee signaled for a Vaxus substitution. Gleb Kurchatov came on for Dawid Gątkowski. Aw Keng Chuan got left behind when Vaxus's Florin-Marian Totolici made a sudden rush forward in minute 31, finishing it off with a clinical strike. 1 - 2! With a shot lofted in from just outside the penalty area 32 minutes in, Abraham Eijkelkamp of Vaxus evened the score to 2 - 2. Sometimes you wonder why a defender wouldn't stay on his feet in a situation like that. Unfortunately for the home fans, the referee had no choice but to award the penalty 34 minutes into the game and Federico Parada did his job, making it 2 - 3. 詹 (Zhan) 海民 (Haimin) pulled a rabbit out of his hat as he wove through the guest's entire central defense and put the 3 - 3 equalizer away after 39 minutes. Federico Parada let loose a good shot after 40 minutes, coming in on a fine move from the left, but the ball went wide. It was 3 - 3 at the break. Looks like Nate Silver was right again - his prediction that Grilled would have 55 percent possession in this half was spot on!

After 46 minutes, the Vaxus coach wanted to see a new face on the field, waving Abraham Eijkelkamp off. Luigi Funari took his place. The game had been going for 52 minutes when Mihai Carbarău came in on the right, feinted, then sped past the off-balance defender to put away the 4 - 3 goal, giving Vaxus the lead. 60 minutes into the game, Vaxus wanted to bring some new energy to their game. Ignacio López González gave Anton Szabo a quick hug as he left the field. Grilled tied it all up, 62 minutes in, after a spectacular goal by Orest Tokarz, who miraculously broke through the home side's central defense, making it 4 - 4. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, Grilled's Gústav Thoroddsen got himself booked. Was it the hair gel? Was it a gift from the gods? Either way, the faithful won't care. Soaring like a Saturn V, Marceli Szwedowski somehow got his head on a Birgir Linklett moonshot from the corner and buried it in the back of the net. What grace! What power! Plant the flag for Vaxus, Neil Armstrong! The score is now 5 - 4. As the 70 minute mark approached, the Grilled manager decided it was time for a substitution. Orest Tokarz reluctantly made way for Evandro La Face. With the clock showing 70 minutes, the fourth official held up the substitution board. Chia Kwang Tse looked to see that it was his number in red, so he made his way over to the sideline and swapped out for Lim An Keng, though he would have liked to continue. Vaxus's Florin-Marian Totolici rushed past his defender and should have scored, but the finish was just wide, taking some paint off the post as it went out. A magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Vaxus's Mihai Carbarău bringing the lead up to 6 - 4. The away team improved the scoreline to 6 - 5, as Gústav Thoroddsen was able to strike home thanks to a good play on the left 78 minutes into the match. A run up the right wing paid off for Grilled as Joe Reece hit a wicked shot past the keeper to tie the game. 6 - 6 after 79 minutes. As the match nears its end, the referee deemed it appropriate to add 4 minutes as stoppage time. The match ends 6 - 6. Now to our celebrity commentator for a hot take. Over to you, Snoop! The most outstanding Vaxus player was without a doubt Mihai Carbarău. Speaking of stinking up the place, Florin-Marian Totolici sure smelled like the bottom of Batman's shoe after a night of crimefighting in Gotham. Grilled's best player was Gústav Thoroddsen. Even six year old fans were wincing at the poor play by Dimitris Germanakos today.