Clear skies welcomed the spectators who had made their way to the stadium today. The following players took the field: Liang Chi - Lárusson, Agresta, Petignat - Pereira, Seeberger, Gerlach, Lependin, Casimiro - Lanteri, Schläppi.

Lineup: Dob - Panigrahi, Jeftić - Xin Lee, ter Berg, Muthyala, Kamel, Ze Han - Xin Seng, Mudaliar, Parvathaneni.

The teams had chosen different formations for the match. The home team, FC Stebock 13, went for a 3-5-2, while Grilled Birds has decided to play a 2-5-3 lineup. Grilled went for a narrow approach, using their divine (+8) (28) ability to focus their attacks down the middle. 6 minutes into the game, Chu Xin Lee almost gave the visitors the lead, as he chipped a delicate lob over the keeper, but the ball glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. With 23 minutes gone, the home side took a 1 - 0 lead as Alex Pereira raced down the right flank and casually flipped the ball into the net after a searing cross from the far side of the pitch. Grilled's Vikram Mudaliar was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 26 minutes. After 31 minutes, the visitors evened the score after Chan Ze Han made it through the middle and struck home making it 1 - 1. A beautiful, arcing corner kick from Vincenzo Agresta found Augusto Rosa Casimiro at the far post, soaring to meet the ball. The keeper is late and he's headed it in for 2 - 1! Grilled players heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their wing attacks to the middle instead. Grilled leveled the score after 40 minutes to make it 2 - 2, as Chu Xin Lee struck home after a fine midfield combination through the middle left him completely unmarked. 2 - 2 was the halftime score. Grilled did a good job holding on to the ball, with 57 percent of possession. We'll be back after these interminable commercial messages.

A particularly graphic suggestion to the referee describing what he could do with his turkey giblets led to a straight red card for Peter Gerlach. After the game, the most discussed event will probably be the penalty awarded after 52 minutes. Despite the controversy, Bhavya Panigrahi stayed cool and struck it nicely, giving the visitors the 2 - 3 lead. Vincenzo Agresta had a chance to even the score when Stebock were awarded a penalty kick after 55 minutes, but the keeper got a strong hand to the ball. Using his strength as an edge, Nedim Schläppi pressed the Grilled defence to make an error. Having snapped up the ball, he went on to botch the finish completely. At this point, 56 minutes had played of the game. The Stebock coach was desperate to reverse his team's fortunes in the game, and ordered his team to change their strategy. 60 minutes into the match, the referee signaled for a Grilled substitution. Bilal Mohammad Harun came on for Neeraj Muthyala. The Grilled coach was happy with the scoreline, but still wanted to change the lineup. After 60 minutes, 吴 (Wu) 敬龙 (Jinglong) came on for Chu Xin Lee. 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, Stebock's Gylfi Lárusson finally got himself booked for a foul. On any other day, Vincenzo Agresta's free kick would have found the back of the net to tie the game for Stebock, but not today - the visitors' keeper displayed extraordinary reflexes as he not only stopped it but held it too. After 69 minutes of game time, Chan Ze Han had an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors' lead, hitting a cross from the right with a half volley, but Li Liang Chi was in the right place and tipped the ball to a corner. As the 75 minute mark approached, the Stebock manager decided it was time for a substitution. Alex Pereira reluctantly made way for Akram Ghani. Grilled's Bhavya Panigrahi made it through the home team's defense on the right hand side 79 minutes into the match. After rounding the keeper, he only had to place the ball in the unguarded net when a defender slid in and cleared the ball off the line. After 83 minutes, Grilled began to show their lack of experience and they threatened to wilt under the heavy pressure from their opposition. The referee showed Grilled's Kalki Parvathaneni the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The referee decided to let play continue for an additional 2 beyond the regular 90 minutes. The match ends 2 - 3. Well, look at this! Cardi B is on the Enormotron in naught but giant sunglasses, red tassles, and a Holy Hand Grenades of Antioch tank top. I've not seen anything like it before. Nedim Schläppi performed admirably for Stebock. I can't remember Vincenzo Agresta ever having a worse night than he just had. Grilled's top performer was clearly Moey Xin Seng. Even six year old fans were wincing at the poor play by Chan Ze Han today.