Grilled's dreams of stumbling into the knockout phase of the Supporter Week Trophy tournament were to be dashed in brutal fashion, with straight defeats in their sixth and seventh matches. They were still flying high before that, having bested former Szmaragdowy Puchar Drugiej Szansy holders Kartofle courtesy of a Tian Yonghang hat-trick, but it would only go downhill after that.

Next up would be Croatian club Mukinje do Indije, who had once reached the top division, only to find Jeffrey Sing a colossus in goal. Essa Haj-Najjar and Grigory Makarov, internationals with the Saudi and Kyrgyzstani teams respectively, would feast upon the Birds' many mistakes, and it was all Lee Lee Hao could to to forestall a whitewash, the fixture eventually ending 6-1.

Now without any remaining margin of safety, Grilled were matched against Pakistan Premier side and once national cupwinners Black Scorpions 13, who had made it to the fourth round of this edition's Hattrick Masters. Like Grilled coming off a loss, theirs to FC Želatovice of the Czech Republic, Scorpions would keep their own hopes alive with a dominating 4-1 win, with Tian Yonghang grabbing the consolation.

Griled head coach Djan Bacelar took it well in his stride. "Going up against these clubs grants a needed sense of perspective. Not to downplay our guys, but there remains a large gap between us and the very best."

Skipper Tian Yonghang could only concur. "A few seasons ago, we would have a puncher's chance in the games we lost. Sadly, it didn't take long to realise that we were completely out of it today."

Farmer Bunnies for their part came away with a 0-3 loss and two 1-1 draws in their three games, the first coming against Istanbul-based ARAP KADRİ, with Lau Chang Wan sent off late. In contrast, they had plenty of counterattacking opportunities against DinamoMania.net of Romania and the loquaciously-named 6 & 2 süsse Bart-Pinguine & 1 Entchen im Team of Ireland, but were let down by a lack of composure in front of goal.