Weather conditions were pretty good for football today. Lineup: Walsh - Fateev, Butănescu, Bâgiu - Klindo, Marrufo, 佑陽 (Youyang), 源峰 (Yuanfeng), Augusto Silva - Vandevenne, Grimstad.

They fielded: Salmiņš - Panigrahi, Carapaica - Kamel, Chuan Yong, Xin Lee, Mohammad Harun, Lunde - Ze Han, Mudaliar, Xin Seng.

Love Mimi Football Club fielded a 3-5-2 lineup. For Grilled Birds, the formation of choice was a 2-5-3. The game had been going for 4 minutes when Juan Luis Marrufo came in on the right, feinted, then sped past the off-balance defender to put away the 1 - 0 goal, giving LMFC the lead. 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, LMFC's Sergiy Fateev finally got himself booked for a foul. The visitors' Chan Ze Han was alert on a play coming in from the left, evening things up at 1 - 1 after 40 minutes. Some great play up the middle by LMFC led to a chance for Hermínio Augusto Silva to get the go-ahead goal with 42 minutes played, but the shot hit the crossbar. The home side put themselves ahead 2 - 1 after 43 minutes of hard work with a breakthrough from Nicolas Vandevenne, who, all by his lonesome, came out of the right wing and hooked the ball over the visitors' keeper. Grilled leveled the score after 44 minutes to make it 2 - 2, as Moey Xin Seng struck home after a fine midfield combination through the middle left him completely unmarked. It was 2 - 2 at the break. Grilled had the upper hand in possession, maintaining an impressive 52 percent possession of the ball.

As the 70 minute mark approached, the Grilled manager decided it was time for a substitution. Salah Kamel reluctantly made way for Abd Hadi Taib Mazhud. 70 minutes into the match, the referee signaled for a Grilled substitution. Kalki Parvathaneni came on for Sølve Lunde. Given a free kick from an impossible angle, Grilled went for a play that loyal fans may recognize from training. A square ball surprised the defense and let Douglas Carapaica slip through at goal. He hit it first time, making the score 2 - 3, 70 minutes into the game. The crowd was on its feet at the 77 minute mark, as LMFC's Nicolas Vandevenne found himself all alone in front of the goal after a dash up the left side. He calmly put away the 3 - 3 equalizer. 潘 (Pun) 源峰 (Yuanfeng) gave LMFC the 4 - 3 lead, as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then placed the ball at the keeper's right post – what a clinical finish! Feeling like a boy about to meet his girlfriend's father for the first time, the inexperienced LMFC struggled to maintain their level of play after 81 minutes. With 84 minutes played, the visitors almost leveled the score. Bhavya Panigrahi shot a hard curved free kick, but it struck the post. The home side's Juan Luis Marrufo came close to extending the lead after 86 minutes. His shot came in from the right but Jānis Salmiņš managed to push it wide with his fingertips. 88 minutes into the game, Bhavya Panigrahi almost tied it all up for the visitors with an expertly placed free kick. Unfortunately for Grilled, the home keeper made an incredible save. 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. The match ends 4 - 3. Looks like Nate Silver was right again - his prediction that Grilled would have 51 percent possession in this half was spot on!

Most important LMFC player was Nicolas Vandevenne. You can tell it was nickel beer night yesterday at the local bar because Dorel Butănescu seemed to stumble all over the pitch. Grilled's best player was Chan Ze Han. I can't remember Abd Hadi Taib Mazhud ever having a worse night than he just had.