The rain was pouring down at the stadium today. 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: Wanyancha - Padiasek, Mwanyika, Celto - Feitosa, Prévost, Pintér, Carlot, Seckach - 秉毅 (Bingyi), Eriksen.

Lineup: Dob - Webb, Panigrahi - Künzler, Xin Lee, Mohammad Harun, Muthyala, Dong Chu - Egan, Parvathaneni, Xin Seng.

Zanzibar Devils fielded a 3-5-2 lineup. For Grilled Birds, the formation of choice was a 2-5-3. Grilled seemed to prefer attacking in the middle, using their divine (+4) ability to great effect. Zanzibar took the lead 21 minutes in, as Fred Mwanyika broke through on the left and put his shot just beyond the reach of the outstretched keeper, bringing the score to 1 - 0. 36 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defense had to look on as Didier Prévost ran straight through, knocking one home to make it 2 - 0 for Zanzibar. Given a free kick from an impossible angle, Zanzibar went for a play that loyal fans may recognize from training. A square ball surprised the defense and let 宋 (Song) 秉毅 (Bingyi) slip through at goal. He hit it first time, making the score 3 - 0, 37 minutes into the game. The home team's fans were upset when, after 38 minutes, the visiting Chu Xin Lee broke through the central defense and got the ball past the keeper. 3 - 1 was the score. It was 3 - 1 at the break. Grilled had the upper hand in possession, maintaining an impressive 52 percent possession of the ball.

46 minutes into the match, the referee signaled for a Grilled substitution. Chan Ze Han came on for Chu Xin Lee. Zanzibar were given a penalty after 49 minutes - neatly put away by Fred Mwanyika. 4 - 1 for the home side. With 66 minutes played, Heng Dong Chu had a fantastic opportunity to reply but his shot from the middle nicked the post and went out. After 68 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by Gabriel Seckach might have resulted in another goal for Zanzibar. However, Massoud Dob made a spectacular save. As the 80 minute mark approached, the Grilled manager decided it was time for a substitution. Moey Xin Seng reluctantly made way for Vikram Mudaliar. Chan Ze Han was handed the Grilled captain's armband. Things were going from bad to worse for the visitors. Fred Mwanyika was able to squirm through the central defense after 81 minutes and score, bringing the lead to 5 - 1. One, two, three goals! That completed a hattrick for Fred Mwanyika. AH! AH! AH! Zanzibar's Flávio Feitosa set up a perfect opportunity for Didier Prévost, but the latter failed to score. Béla Pintér could have put Zanzibar up one more, but he fired into the side netting after breaking free on the left after 87 minutes. The players were tired, but when the referee announced that there would be 1 minutes of added time, they welcomed the extra opportunity to make an impact. Gilbert Webb could've grabbed a goal for Grilled 89 minutes in when he got a pass from the left putting him free of the home side's defense, but he was unable to take advantage of the situation. The match ends 5 - 1. Looks like Nate Silver was right again - his prediction that Grilled would have 51 percent possession in this half was spot on!

Most important Zanzibar player was Flemming Eriksen. I can't remember Gabriel Seckach ever having a worse night than he just had. Grilled's top performer was clearly Kalki Parvathaneni. You can tell it was nickel beer night yesterday at the local bar because Gilbert Webb seemed to stumble all over the pitch.