A scorching day at West Merlions Arena, where 60549 spectators were in place for today's match. Cassiano João Piedade was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Kay Eggenberger and Otto Huiskes. It was a sunny day and the Technical players could roll the ball around with ease. Those that had to chase after the ball found the weather less appealing, it especially stymied the game of Powerful and Quick players. Merlions's starters: Abelin - Naim, Vărzaru, Varila - Roudier, Stockwell, Ramanayake, Blankenstein, Lieuw Fat - Cută, Gallartzagoitia.

The following players had been chosen by Grilled: Marcol - Himadas, 其材 (Qicai) - Reddy, Khairul, Keng Chuan, Thach, Trindade - Kwang Tse, Chitre, An Keng.

West Merlions entered the field in a 3-5-2 formation. The visitors, Grilled Birds, chose to start the game with a 2-5-3 lineup. Grilled clearly preferred using their divine (+6) ability to attack in the middle. Stefaan Blankenstein of Merlions was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. Merlions took the lead 26 minutes in, as Juuso Varila broke through on the left and put the 1 - 0 shot just beyond the reach of the outstretched keeper. An equalising goal seemed certain after 29 minutes when Chad Thach attacked down the left wing, but Sverre Abelin just managed to make a save to keep the ball out of the net. A magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Merlions's Stefaan Blankenstein increasing the lead to 2 - 0. A precise pass from Nicolae-Cristian Cută made the goal possible. Raúl Himadas curled his corner straight toward the goal, but the tricky shot was somehow blocked by the keeper. However, Grilled's Brian 'Was Born' Reddy managed to get hold of the rebound and scored the 2-1 goal. Merlions's Juuso Varila had an excellent opportunity after 37 minutes, shooting after receiving a pass from the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! Merlions's Martin Ramanayake saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates after 40 minutes. 2 - 1 was the score after the first half. Merlions claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 53 percent.

After 54 minutes a well-practised indirect free kick routine by Merlions was easily anticipated by the defenders. The players forward were so well marked, they were left with few viable options. After 63 minutes, Merlions were awarded a free kick. Rather than shooting straight at goal, the taker went for an indirect variant which seemed to take his team mates a bit by surprise. Gavin Stockwell did attempt a finish, but from an awkward position, sending the ball into the away fans. Grilled will have to do without Mohd Marzuki Khairul for a time, due to a bad rib injury at the 67 minute mark. This gave Teo Chuan Yong" class="awayplayer">Teo Chuan Yong a chance to take to the field instead. 70 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as Aide Gallartzagoitia broke through, making the score 3 - 1 for Merlions. Things were deteriorating for the away team as Merlions scored another to make it 4 - 1 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for Radu-Andrei Vărzaru after 74 minutes. All credit to Martin Ramanayake for that clever assist. Grilled had a good opportunity to attack on the wing, but remembered their instructions to go for middle attacks. 77 minutes in, Brian 'Was Born' Reddy made an incredible run up the middle and nearly reduced the home side's lead, but Sverre Abelin refused to let the ball slip by him. After 88 minutes, the Grilled coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving Paulino Trindade off the field. 冬馬 (Toma) 田宮 (Tamiya) took his place. 89 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Grilled substitution. Damian Hutter came on for Raúl Himadas. As Raúl Himadas left the field, the coach signaled to 冬馬 (Toma) 田宮 (Tamiya) to be the new set pieces taker. The referee decided to let play continue for an additional 2 minutes beyond the regular 90 minutes. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. Philippe Roudier squirmed through their central defence after 89 minutes, increasing the lead to 5 - 1. The match ends 5 - 1. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Merlions, with 57 percent of the ball.

The most dominating Merlions player was without a doubt Aide Gallartzagoitia. Grilled's top performer was clearly Gandhik Chitre.