The rain was pouring down at the stadium today. While a boggy pitch like this was an advantage for physical players, it really didn't help those who relied on speed or technique. The following players took the field: Aminkhani - Egobia, Guibert - Kerepeczki, Matijaš, Vrtodušić, Petrić, Pačak - Tenore, Rimaj, Mujagić.

The following players had been selected: Salmiņš - Carapaica, Jeftić - Dong Chu, Xin Seng, Xin Lee, Chuan Yong, Kamel - Mudaliar, Ze Han, Egan.

The teams stopped and stared at each other - it was like they were looking in a mirror, since they both lined up in a 2-5-3 formation. Grilled used their divine (+6) (26) ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the field. Oh dear - the keeper's made a mess of that one. The crowd was very disappointed after he let Bernie Egan get the go-ahead goal with a speculative shot from the right after 6 minutes. 0 - 1. Given a free kick in a difficult position after 27 minutes, Grilled tried a variation that they had practiced in training. The kick was sent into the area just in front of the keeper, however, the defense were on their toes and allowed no space for a finish. Big paper red cards were being held up by the opposing supporters with 28 minutes on the clock after Vikram Mudaliar's mistimed tackle from behind. The referee only showed the Grilled player a yellow card though. After 30 minutes NK were able to score the equalizing 1 - 1 goal when Marino Pačak picked up a pass coming in from the right and lofted it past the away team's keeper. NK broke through on the left after 34 minutes, with Leander Guibert firing at an impossible angle to give the home side a 2 - 1 lead. The visiting team's Chan Ze Han was able to score the 2 - 2 equalizer with a header 37 minutes in, after some good work on the right. The teams went for the halftime break at 2 - 2. Grilled had the upper hand in possession, maintaining an impressive 54 percent possession of the ball.

Grilled had a magnificent opportunity with 57 minutes gone as Salah Kamel hit the ball hard from the edge of the penalty box. However, the shot went wide. After 60 minutes, the Grilled coach wanted to see a new face on the field, waving Douglas Carapaica off. Sølve Lunde took his place. The guests almost went up by a goal with 64 minutes elapsed when Chan Ze Han came through from the right. The shot bounced harmlessly off the post, though. The referee showed NK's Branislav Mujagić the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Grilled's Heng Dong Chu sent an early cross that saw the defenders caught out of position and the alert Chu Xin Lee was able to pounce and roll the ball past the hapless netminder to make the score 2 - 3. The game had been going for 73 minutes when Chan Ze Han broke through on the right, upping the score to 2 - 4 for Grilled, much to the home crowd's dismay. NK didn't give an inch and after 75 minutes Mario Rimaj was able to put the 3 - 4 goal away after a fine individual play on the right. The players were tired, but when the referee announced that there would be 2 minutes of added time, they welcomed the extra opportunity to make an impact. With the match clock reading 90 minutes, the inexperienced Grilled team fell into disarray. Some fine one-twos on the left led to a Grilled goal with 90 minutes gone, making it 3 - 5. Vikram Mudaliar was noted down as the scorer. With 91 minutes gone, NK's Branislav Mujagić had to leave the game after talking back to the referee and receiving his second booking. The match ends 3 - 5. Grilled set the tempo, maintaining 55 percent of possession.

NK's best player was Mario Rimaj. You can tell it was nickel beer night yesterday at the local bar because Mehrzad Aminkhani seemed to stumble all over the pitch. Chan Ze Han performed admirably for Grilled. Good thing Sølve Lunde isn't a horse, because he'd surely be sent to the glue factory after that performance.