Clear skies welcomed the spectators who had made their way to the stadium today. They fielded: Salmiņš - Panigrahi, Webb - Chuan Yong, Xin Seng, ter Berg, Kamel, Parvathaneni - Mudaliar, Ze Han, Egan.

Lineup: Rask - Chiểu, Koszarek, Jamrożek, Misariscabame, Markulić - Barton, Krug, Słodowicz, King - Bento Costa.

Grilled Birds fielded a 2-5-3 lineup. For Steeple Sinderby Wanderers, the formation of choice was a 5-4-1. Grilled clearly preferred using their divine (+7) (27) ability to attack in the middle today. A divine (+4) (24) level of counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Wanderers. 0 - 1 was the score after 2 minutes, when Wanderers's Maciej 'Rzeźnik' Jamrożek cut through the central defense and pounded one in. After 7 minutes, a counter-attack by Wanderers was converted into a decent free kick opportunity. However, the indirect free kick play was easily anticipated by the defenders. A textbook example of how to defend a free kick - the attackers were left with few viable options. Wanderers's Włodzimierz Słodowicz rushed past his defender and should have scored, but the finish was just wide, taking some paint off the post as it went out. The incalculable Lê Chiểu of Wanderers did everything right as he set up Nick King for a goal after 28 minutes. Unfortunately, the strike missed its target. With 31 minutes gone, a long pass from the defense of Wanderers resulted in a counter-attack that set Nick King free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. Alex Barton 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 Jānis Salmiņš just kept rising and landed in the relieved crowd. Grilled put pressure on the visitors' central defense with 38 minutes played, but Kalki Parvathaneni couldn't find an opening. It was 0 - 1 at the break. Looks like Nate Silver was right again - his prediction that Grilled would have 61 percent possession in this half was spot on!

After 47 minutes, Grilled attempted an attack but had to cede the ball in frustration. They could not find their way through the mighty Freddy Krug, who acted as an effective roadblock on Wanderers's defensive midfield. 53 minutes into the game, Freddy Krug broke up a promising Grilled attack single-handedly, using just the right amount of physical pressure on the ball holder. After 56 minutes, a well-worked counter-attack by Wanderers on the right gave Nick King an easy opportunity in front of the goal. He duly converted to make it 0 - 2. 62 minutes into the game, Wanderers had difficulty finding their positions and their organization dropped to passable (6). As the 80 minute mark approached, the Grilled manager decided it was time for a substitution. Kalki Parvathaneni reluctantly made way for 吴 (Wu) 敬龙 (Jinglong). 85 minutes into the match, the referee signaled for a Grilled substitution. Chu Xin Lee came on for Kalle ter Berg. 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 0 - 2. Grilled did a good job holding on to the ball, with 62 percent of possession. We'll be back after these interminable commercial messages.

Most important Grilled player was Chan Ze Han. You can tell it was nickel beer night yesterday at the local bar because Teo Chuan Yong seemed to stumble all over the pitch. The most outstanding Wanderers player was without a doubt Nick King. Good thing Włodzimierz Słodowicz isn't a horse, because he'd surely be sent to the glue factory after that performance.