It was a scorching day at the stadium today. It was a very hot day and some players suffered from this, especially those relying on tough physical play or a lot of fast runs. For the technical ones, on the other hand, this was ideal conditions. Starters: Jover - Cuculea, Toulet, Akbarpouri - Al-Zeer, Paknejad, Azpurua, Alaabdi, Al-Ansari - Al-Mansoori, 皆川 (Minagawa).

Lineup: Salmiņš - Webb, Lunde - Kannan, Chuan Yong, Xin Seng, Mohammad Harun, Kamel - Ze Han, Mazhud, Mudaliar.

Dubai Koekie started the game in a 3-5-2 formation, whereas Grilled Birds lined up in a 2-5-3. Grilled went for a narrow approach, using their divine (+5) (25) ability to focus their attacks down the middle. Grilled were determined to attack in the middle, even their wing attacks ended up coming through the center. 5 minutes into the game, Chan Ze Han almost gave the visitors the lead, as he chipped a delicate lob over the keeper, but the ball glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. Grilled had a good opportunity to score the go-ahead goal after a combination on the right but the home team's keeper Ramon Jover saved Shekar Kannan's shot that was headed straight to the top corner. Khalfan Al-Mansoori's name was chanted throughout the stadium after his goal in minute 13 following a run up the middle gave DuKo the 1 - 0 lead. DuKo's Faisal Al-Zeer was delighted to score as he saw his shot go between the legs of the advancing keeper and into the net, following some good attacking movement on the right wing. 2 - 0 after 23 minutes. With 24 minutes played, Moey Xin Seng had a fantastic opportunity to reply but his shot from the middle nicked the post and went out. 2 - 0 was the halftime score. Grilled did a good job holding on to the ball, with 60 percent of possession. We'll be back after these interminable commercial messages.

With the clock showing 46 minutes, the fourth official held up the substitution board. Abd Hadi Taib Mazhud looked to see that it was his number in red, so he made his way over to the sideline and swapped out for Kalki Parvathaneni, though he would have liked to continue. The visitors got a chance to pulling one back after 57 minutes, due to a defensive blunder leaving Vikram Mudaliar completely unmarked. His strike was pathetic though, rolling slowly to the home side's keeper. After 65 minutes, the Grilled coach wanted to see a new face on the field, waving Salah Kamel off. Heng Dong Chu took his place. 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, DuKo's Mohammad Saeid Paknejad finally got himself booked for a foul. 69 minutes in, an amazing pass from the left side resulted in a golden chance for the visitors. Moey Xin Seng was up to the task and scored, bringing them up to 2 - 1. 89 minutes into the match, the referee signaled for a Grilled substitution. Chu Xin Lee came on for Shekar Kannan. As the match nears its end, the referee deemed it appropriate to add 1 minutes as stoppage time. DuKo solidified their lead at the 89 minute mark, as Gerardo Azpurua snaked the ball through the central line of defense and finished for 3 - 1. Feeling like a boy about to meet his girlfriend's father for the first time, the inexperienced DuKo struggled to maintain their level of play after 89 minutes. The match ends 3 - 1. Well, look at this! Cardi B is on the Enormotron in naught but giant sunglasses, red tassles, and a Disgustin tank top. I've not seen anything like it before. Most important DuKo player was Khalfan Al-Mansoori. You can tell it was nickel beer night yesterday at the local bar because Faisal Al-Zeer seemed to stumble all over the pitch. Grilled's top performer was clearly Chan Ze Han. Speaking of stinking up the place, Chu Xin Lee sure smelled like the bottom of Batman's shoe after a night of crimefighting in Gotham.