Legends beat old rival Emerald FC

The day before this classic match vs. old rival Emerald FC, we got a couple of players pulling out with flu or lower back issues. What looked like a long squad of motivated players turned into a small squad of only 13 players.

We had 2 players making their debut for the Legends with Germain & William. Also, we used Hiro-san as No. 10 to solve our lack of players in the midfield.

We had a very good start and Emerald struggled to get the ball in possession. Both Hira-san and Mamdouh were using their speed on the wings trying to set-up Bob and Pierre into the box. It resulted in several good goal scoring opportunities but somehow the final ball didn’t want to go in. It was getting a bit frustrating for our strikers but close to the end of the first quarter, we scored a “beauty” goal by Germain. His strike left the Emerald keeper with no chance.

While Emerald FC struggled a bit in the first quarter, they putted their act together in the 2nd quarter. Suddenly, they had most of the possession and we found ourselves chasing the ball. It however didn’t result in many opportunities for them as they had no shot on target. Our stopper Laurent made two surprise visits into Emerald’s box. On the 1st, he scored from a cross of Mamdouh but was ruled offside… On the 2nd, he thought he was Ronaldo and made an incredible bicycle kick only to realize that he came 25 cm above the ground… the ball was an easy pick for the Emerald keeper.

In the third quarter, we came back on top. Nico had a good shot on target but it went just over. As long as it stayed, we were exposed to Emerald equalizer.

Then, on the final quarter, we decided to go the 2-0 instead of sitting back and defend only. This tactic paid-off as “on the run’ Mamdouh made a one-two with Pierre… But instead of shooting himself, he gave the ball back to Pierre who didn’t hesitate to score our well deserved 2-0.

[ SPL V ] Shanghai Lions FC 2-0 Shanghai Emerald FC

It was a good team performance from the Legends to beat old rival Emerald and the beers tasted good after the match. We are ready for the final part of the season starting in April.

Well done Legends!

Cheers

Freek