Clouds darkened the skies at the stadium today. They fielded: Dobmann - Kroppe, Sadeq, Pauling - 英健 (Yingjian), Buttmann, Kuskardy-Dorner, Kleindienst, De Buck - Baßler, Sperbert.

The following players took the field: Germanakos - Keng Chuan, 其材 (Qicai) - Reddy, Thach, Kwang Tse, Khairul, An Keng - Reece, Thoroddsen, Tokarz.

Hunterburger SV trundled out to the pitch in a 3-5-2 formation. The visitors, Grilled Birds, chose to start the game with a 2-5-3 lineup. Grilled went for a narrow approach, using their divine (+4) (24) ability to focus their attacks down the middle. Maybe 王 (Wang) 英健 (Yingjian) should join the aquatics team instead. He went down dramatically after 10 minutes, crying out with agony as he fell. The referee was not impressed, though, and showed him a yellow for diving. Chad Thach came close to putting the visiting team one up 14 minutes into the match, following a solo raid down the middle, but Romanus Dobmann managed to tip the ball over. 16 minutes in, Hunterburger appeared unsure on how to play and their organization was only solid (7). Dirk Kuskardy-Dorner is making an astonishing dash. The fans are chanting his name. You can hear it reverberate around the stadium. Now a manic sprint up the middle and into the box. Oh! He's thrown open the door! He's thrown open the door, shot the ball through, and slammed the door shut on Mr. Tumnus! Hunterburger has taken the lead 20 minutes into the match, 1 to 0. There'll be no Turkish Delight after the match for the keeper! Joe Reece will have Excedrin Headache number 5 after heading home the hard corner kick from Aw Keng Chuan after 27 minutes of play. I'm sure that making the score 1 - 1 will assuage him a bit, though. Down the middle came Gústav Thoroddsen, making a fantastic play that nearly saw Grilled take the lead after 29 minutes, but Romanus Dobmann preserved the tie. The visiting Gústav Thoroddsen was booed thoroughly by the home crowd 36 minutes into the game, after he broke through the middle and scored, resulting in the visitors taking the lead. 1 - 2 was the score. 1 - 2 was the halftime score. Looks like Nate Silver was right again - his prediction that Grilled would have 54 percent possession in this half was spot on!

Hunterburger's coach went over the strategy again during the break, and after that his players had solid (7) organization. 46 minutes into the match, the referee signaled for a Grilled substitution. Gandhik Chitre came on for Orest Tokarz. As the 46 minute mark approached, the Grilled manager decided it was time for a substitution. Lim An Keng reluctantly made way for Hwang Teck Fu. Grilled were determined to attack in the middle, even their wing attacks ended up coming through the center. A thrilling play through the middle after 57 minutes gave Grilled's Chad Thach a chance to increase the lead, and he happily obliged. The score was then 1 - 3. Grilled already had the lead, so Joe Reece probably won't be too disappointed that his speculative shot from the right 60 minutes in fell wide of the goal. After 61 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for Brian 'Was Born' Reddy who increased Grilled's lead to 1 - 4. Big paper red cards were being held up by the opposing supporters with 68 minutes on the clock after Rupert Baßler's mistimed tackle from behind. The referee only showed the Hunterburger player a yellow card though. 70 minutes into the game, Hunterburger wanted to bring some new energy to their game. 王 (Wang) 英健 (Yingjian) gave Harald Spiesen a quick hug as he left the field. After 70 minutes, the Hunterburger coach wanted to see a new face on the field, waving Frédric De Buck off. Iulian Pavel took his place. 73 minutes into the game, Hunterburger had difficulty finding their positions and their organization dropped to solid (7). Hunterburger's Rupert Baßler soared above the crowd, but couldn't knock home the corner 78 minutes into the match. With the clock showing 80 minutes, the fourth official held up the substitution board. Rupert Baßler looked to see that it was his number in red, so he made his way over to the sideline and swapped out for Baltasar-Nepomuk 'Sturmi' Buttmann, though he would have liked to continue. After 85 minutes, the Grilled coach wanted to see a new face on the field, waving Gústav Thoroddsen off. Phua Ming Xin took his place. The referee decided to let play continue for an additional 1 beyond the regular 90 minutes. The crowd groaned when Anton-Michael Pauling, having maneuvered his way down the right, fired the ball just wide and missed a great opportunity to pull one back for Hunterburger. The match ends 1 - 4. Grilled did a good job holding on to the ball, with 57 percent of possession. We'll be back after these interminable commercial messages.

Most important Hunterburger player was Luis Sperbert. Even six year old fans were wincing at the poor play by Baltasar-Nepomuk 'Nemo' Buttmann today. Grilled's top performer was clearly Chia Kwang Tse. Speaking of stinking up the place, Dimitris Germanakos sure smelled like the bottom of Batman's shoe after a night of crimefighting in Gotham.