I find that for now the only way to ask for help is to click the button in the beginning, otherwise you will always see the goal expired for lack of friends joining... :'( :'( :'(
Same for me after the game update! But as I reported the issue Glu only claimed this could happen due to network conditions. However I am convinced this is another issue as I never had such a problem before the update and they just have no plans to fix, just like the others.
I have also seen people scoring 1500+ with only 30% upgrade on average. Really have no idea how they do that or it is a bug they don't show their real upgrade status. I think I lost to an unfair duel.
I reported this problem over half a year ago but they only claimed they are aware of it and did nothing. The only way to completely avoid this problem is to purchase autochef which will prepare the combos for you.