It was a scorching day at the stadium today. The weather was sunny, which meant perfect conditions for technical players in both teams. However, it was also quite warm, which meant quick or physically strong players were drained faster and couldn't play their best game. Lineup: Dob - Webb, Panigrahi - Kamel, Mohammad Harun, ter Berg, Xin Seng, Xin Lee - Parvathaneni, Ze Han, Egan.

They fielded: Szymuła - Thomson, Daudet, Huenchumán, Ilabaca - Cuttelod, Reiners, Billaud, Banzer, Methukupally - Zerega.

Grilled Birds trundled out to the pitch in a 2-5-3 formation. The visitors, Palta Hass, chose to start the game with a 4-5-1 lineup. Grilled mostly ignored the flanks in favor of their divine (+7) ability to attack in the middle. For their match strategy, Palta had decided to use their magical ability to counter-attack whenever possible. Some good play on the left wing created an opportunity for the visitors 7 minutes into the match, and Sumanth Methukupally wasn't about to waste it. He got past the defenders and fired a shot that the keeper just missed. 0 - 1 for the visitors. Erhard Reiners was, after 15 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the center, but the home side's keeper Massoud Dob made the save. After 29 minutes Palta tried to use their counter-attacking skills. Unfortunately, Josías 'El Ornitorrinco' Zerega's shot sailed wide after his break down the right. Grilled put pressure on the visitors' central defense with 30 minutes played, but Bilal Mohammad Harun couldn't find an opening. With 31 minutes gone, Sumanth Methukupally suddenly found himself completely free on the right wing when a counter-attack by Palta caught their opponents by surprise. Only a great save by the opposing keeper prevented him from scoring. Salah Kamel managed to make an excellent pass from the wing, but Moey Xin Seng was not as skillful and couldn't finish it off. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 1. Grilled set the tempo, maintaining 58 percent of possession.

As the 46 minute mark approached, the Grilled manager decided it was time for a substitution. Chan Ze Han reluctantly made way for Vikram Mudaliar. Moey Xin Seng made a superb effort after 55 minutes after a long ball through the middle, but one of the visitors' defenders got a foot in at the last second to preserve the away lead. Grilled had a good opportunity to attack on the wing, but remembered their instructions to go for middle instead. After 62 minutes, Kalle ter Berg rushed down the middle past the away team's defenders to score the 1 - 1 goal. Grilled's Vikram Mudaliar made use of his speed to get free of his marker, but he still couldn't get a shot off after 63 minutes. Palta's Ulf 'Manguaça' Banzer gave the visitors a 1 - 2 lead after 64 minutes with a superb strike from the right. With 69 minutes played, Grilled's Moey Xin Seng made a rush down the left, leaving him free to put the 2 - 2 equalizer away. Palta's Erhard Reiners was shown a yellow card after 74 minutes for slicing down an opponent. 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, Palta's Thomas 'El Choro' Billaud finally got himself booked for a foul. The visitors' central defense should have had no trouble clearing the pass to Vikram Mudaliar, but the Grilled player managed to shrug them off and fire a low shot that 5-holed the keeper to give his team the lead. 3 - 2! With 83 minutes gone, Grilled's organization began to suffer due to a lack of experience. The fourth official announced that there would be 1 minutes of stoppage time, giving fans a slim hope that their team could get one more attack in before this was all over. The match ends 3 - 2. Well, look at this! Nikki Minaj is on the Jumbotron in naught but pink lipstick, soccer balls, and a Ben Nevis of platinum hair. I've not seen anything like it before. She's not got enough room inside her for a rheumatic pain. Can you hear her? Most important Grilled player was Vikram Mudaliar. I can't remember Bhavya Panigrahi ever having a worse night than he just had. The most outstanding Palta player was without a doubt Ulf 'Manguaça' Banzer. Even six year old fans were wincing at the poor play by Konstantin Cuttelod today.