Historic weekend for the Lions !
Lions,
Sometimes you run into situation where everything can go wrong or everything can go right ! We faced 3 massive games
- SIFL game vs Reunited (who were at top of SIFL)
- Legends game vs Scotland only a win would give us the title
- SPL game vs Century Park live on PPTV (who were at top of the SPL)
[ SIFL ] Shanghai LIONS 1-0 ReUnited FC
On Saturday we had 16 Lions ready to fight we started well and quickly took control of the midfield playing with 5 midfielders after 10 min we got rewarded a penalty kick by the female referee but Azzeddine saw his kick being stopped by the Reunited goalie. For the rest of the match we could keep the Reunited players out of our box and it was at a corner for us that Felix who took it found Dani at the back post and he didn’t hesitate to header it home. After that reunited got a great chance but our goalie Radouane showed his skill and saved it. In the second half Reunited added one more striker and started to push more and more they got a few chances but our defense was outstanding on the day ! Just before the end Patrick made his come back after over 6 month of injury woes and it lifted our spirit good enough to take all three points with a clean sheet and Yngve voted man of the match.
[ Veteran ] Shanghai LIONS 3-1 Scotland
On Sunday the legends had their game of life or death ! Scotland was the opponent and they would be champions if they beat us so the stakes were very high. However we had a big line up of 17 players with Jamie in the coaching role and Fred as Captain. Due to our 20 minutes warm up for the first time this season we were all over Scotland for the first 20 minutes. Fred escaped on the right and could have shot on target but instead he found Farid in the box he nicely gave us the 1-0 lead. In this kind of game to score first is essential as it means half the job is done ! Ten minutes later another escape from Fred this time he shot but the keeper dropped right into the feet of Laid, 2-0 !! We kept dominating the game but forgot to score more. It was from a corner that the Scots scored with a header and it was game on suddenly. Scotland played very hard and physical but our defense showed their strength with 20 minutes to go it was still 2-1. The game got nasty with a red card for Scotland and a yellow for us. With two minutes to go Jeremy went on the run and made a one two with Farid and Jeremy smashed the ball in the net. We knew we got the title and the party could start ! Brilliant game, good coaching, fantastic fighting spirit and well deserved Champions of the SPL Veteran League !! The legends started slow this season but as the season went by each week they played better and better and were motivated to win the title ! Its great to so legends still being hungry for titles, that must be the Lions Spirit !
[ SPL ] Shanghai LIONS 4-2 Century Park FC
Right after that we were suddenly seeing our Lions everywhere on mobile phones and in living rooms. Suddenly there was buzz in Shanghai as it was the first ever live SPL game on PPTV the largest internet TV company in the world. We had a great line up and motivation was very high as we could go back on top in the SPL. We started well and Century Park looked a bit nervous both teams went for pressing and a mistake put Azzedine free how saw the keeper too far out and he lobbed it over the keeper and tried to celebrate in front of the camera. Century Park a much improved side also got their chances and the levels to 1-1 which was the half time score. The second half the Lions got plenty of opportunities plenty of free kicks and the game got a bit harder. It cost century park a player with 25 minutes to go as he got red carded. Lions were in control but suddenly with 8 minutes to go Century Park scored by a good cross and a great header ! What happened next will be remembered for a long time as all Lions decided to fight and never gave up. Patrick came on to lift our spirits and with all the energy we had we went to look for goals in an amazing power display we score three goals in the last 8 minutes two by Felix and one by Dani. By now we figured out how to celebrate in front of the camera and I am sure we added thousands of fans in china by this turn around !
After the game we could look back at the great PPTV coverage and Nicolas was kind enough to but some highlights out for everybody ! Waauw it cannot get any better than this !
Click here to watch the full game
Its hard to describe the feelings we had to go through after we won all three games by fighting and showing great spirit in every game. You have to BE A LION to understand this feeling only we know it and that makes us stand out. A lot of hard work on and off the pitch suddenly got paid off in fantastic manner ! Sure we will celebrate it with a great Christmas Party but also we cannot wait to our next games next weekend !
Proud to be a Lion !!
Cheers
Freek