Legends beat Shanghai Scotland in a nerve wrecking match
Last Sunday, our legends were up against Shanghai Scotland. The weather was perfect with blue sky, no pollution and 22 degrees as often here in May or October. The game was played at the Wellington School field and were happy to see a perfect green grass field.
We had a motivated squad for our 2nd match of the season. Before the game, we reminded our players the crazy scenario of last year where we conceded 4 goals towards the end of the match. Our goal this time was the “clean sheet” and decided to pay extra attention to their striker.
We started well with lots of ball circulation and positive aggression to get the ball back once we lost possession. It gave us a wonderful goal after 5 minutes when Benoit our right back set up Fred who found Germain who himself launched Pierre free in front of the Scotland Goalie… He didn’t hesitate to find the net. We did get more chances but most went off target. We thought to get a penalty when Germain went one on one with the keeper but the referee had other thoughts.
In the second 20 minute, we agreed to show the same aggression from the start but when we entered the field we saw flat Lions team and a more aggressive Shanghai Scotland. They got several corners and some free kicks but we survived their attacks. On the other end of the pitch we managed to hit the top of the post and the cross bar twice within 15 seconds… This is acutally more difficult to do than putting the ball in the net.
In the third 20 minutes, we played a bit better with David and Hira-san back in the squad but our finishing was not sharp enough. We did warn our players about Scotland player Matt as beside his size and power; he was also very fast and hard to stop. He did manage to outpace our defenders and score the equalizer. We were looking to take the lead back by a corner but we were put off guard when Matt ran free on our goal on the counter attack… Luckily, Clement our goalie stayed calm and composed and managed to block his effort from a very close range.
In the last 20 minutes, we decided to restart the game as if it was 0-0. We played better football and we thought John would score the winner after a great pass of Mamdouh… However, he opted to pass the ball to Pierre instead of shooting himself… FL gave the order at the break not to be selfish which could explain the action. With 5 minutes on the clock remaining, we did get our reward when Romain launched Pierre… This time and without hesitation, he blasted the ball in the left top corner.
[ SPL V ] Shanghai Lions FC 2-1 Shanghai Scottish SC
The final whistle came as a relief and in the end we were happy with the three points. Big compliment to Shanghai Scotland who never gave up and gave us a hard time until the end. The match was a joy to watch for the supporters and nerve wrecking for the coaches.
It was a perfect end of a beautiful day on a beautiful pitch.
Cheers
Freek
