The spectators didn't look too happy about the constant raining 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. They fielded: Buda - Dragan, Winiecki, Lemarchand, Reker - Gottschalk-Kruth, Hadrian, Kosiecki, Fortino - Pinho, Kluczek.

Starters: Dob - Panigrahi, Jeftić - 敬龙 (Jinglong), Ze Han, ter Berg, Kamel, Xin Lee - Parvathaneni, Xin Seng, Egan.

Manchuria AFC started the game in a 4-4-2 formation, whereas Grilled Birds lined up in a 2-5-3. This was a good period for the visitors, with several opportunities to take the lead, particularly when Chan Ze Han slipped through the left defense to come up alone against Patryk Buda, but the home side's keeper showed his lightning-fast reflexes. Edward Dragan got left behind when Grilled's Bernie Egan made a sudden rush forward in minute 10, finishing it off with a clinical strike. 0 - 1! The Manchuria players listened closely to their manager, as he gave new tactical instructions for the team. The game had been going for 13 minutes when 吴 (Wu) 敬龙 (Jinglong) broke through on the right, upping the score to 0 - 2 for Grilled, much to the home crowd's dismay. A surprising free kick routine after 21 minutes nearly resulted in another goal for the visitors, but the strikers were too eager and were caught offside. Mateja Jeftić came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle, but his attempted chip over Patryk Buda just kept rising and landed in the relieved crowd. Patryk Buda got a fingertip on Chan Ze Han's shot from the left 33 minutes in, and managed to keep the visitors from going up another goal. 0 - 2 was the halftime score. Grilled set the tempo, maintaining 63 percent of possession.

Grilled came close to extending their lead as Bernie Egan delivered a low effort on goal from the right but the angle was too sharp, and the shot was destined for the side netting. Moey Xin Seng was, after 69 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 Patryk Buda made the save. 70 minutes into the game, Grilled wanted to bring some new energy to their game. Bhavya Panigrahi gave Gilbert Webb a quick hug as he left the field. Paweł Winiecki almost lowered the gap having danced through the entire left side of the defense, but the shot went straight into the arms of the goalkeeper. The home crowd was briefly mollified when Henryk Kluczek reduced the lead to 1 - 2 after a brilliant midfield give-and-go through the middle. As quick as a flash, Kalki Parvathaneni of Grilled lost his man and passed the ball to the wide-open Moey Xin Seng who easily hit it home to make it 1 - 3. With the clock showing 73 minutes, the fourth official held up the substitution board. Henryk Kluczek looked to see that it was his number in red, so he made his way over to the sideline and swapped out for Bonifacy Sawczyński, though he would have liked to continue. 74 minutes into the game, Grilled were awarded a penalty and Mateja Jeftić was able to increase the visitors' lead to 1 - 4, rolling the ball in off the right post. Loann Lemarchand looked around after sending his opponent to the ground to realize he was the last man. That's called denial of a goalscoring opportunity, and the Manchuria player was sent off after 76 minutes. 80 minutes into the match, the referee signaled for a Grilled substitution. Heng Dong Chu came on for 吴 (Wu) 敬龙 (Jinglong). The fourth official announced that there would be 3 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 1 - 4. Looks like Nate Silver was right again - his prediction that Grilled would have 63 percent possession in this half was spot on!

The most outstanding Manchuria player was without a doubt Cássio Pinho. Even six year old fans were wincing at the poor play by Paweł Winiecki today. Grilled's top performer was clearly Moey Xin Seng. You can tell it was nickel beer night yesterday at the local bar because Chu Xin Lee seemed to stumble all over the pitch.