Legends get the 3 points vs. England FC

Last Sunday, our legends were up against Shanghai England FC. 15 players were available for this 1^st game of the new season. Pretty much the same team as last year with only Matthias as new add-in to the team.

In the 1^st quarter, we started the game in 4-2-3-1 formation. Our ambition was to press as much as we could in order to harass our opponent in their half… With the hot 25+ degree weather, we thought this tactic could make their cardio explode… Well, let’s say it straight; it didn’t go according to plan. We did get a few opportunities especially from Pierre but didn’t convert… Problem was that England players get opportunities to score too as we were a bit too far on the marking and not precise enough on our passes. In this ping-pong game; we finally got more clinical than our opponent with Pierre scoring on his 3^rd attempt. 1-0 for our legends at the end of the 1^st quarter.

In the 2^nd quarter we did try to change a few things… The formation 1^st with a 4-3-3 with the idea to play a bit more direct. Seems this allowed stopping England building-up from their defense up to the front. Still, we struggled on 2^nd ball and were not able to make more than 3 passes in a row. So in this ping-pong battle, both teams had their chances to score. Just before half-time, Germain gave us some fresh air scoring the 2^nd goal for the 2-0.

In the 3^rd quarter, we did a few changes to make use of our bench. Nico’s special summer training proved paying-off as he did a very good entry. Overall, we kept on being dangerous with various players trying their luck or being called borderline offside. The good thing is that we were now in control annihilating any attempt from our opponent getting close to Clement our goalie. Anyway, no goal in this quarter.

In the last quarter, we kept our control momentum. As England only had 1 or 2 subs; seems their legs started to feel heavy. On our side confidence was growing, and we finally manage making longer series of passes… On one of them starting from back left, Romain managed to find some space close to their box. He finished calmly with a powerful low shot on the right side of the keeper.

[ SPL V ] Shanghai Lions FC 3-0 Shanghai England F.C.

In the last few minutes, we could have conceded 1 or 2 goals on their freekick but Clement was vigilant helped by Chris who cleared the ball on the line. It was showtime for England keeper too as he made an indecrible double-save on a flying header from Pierre first… The time to get-up, he stopped Germain’s powershot on close range.

Overall, it was a good 1st game of the season for our legends with 3 goals and cleansheet. We could have scored 3 to 5 goals in every quarter but England FC could have scored a few goals too. 2 positive things on my side:

1. Our passes, position and possession have improved over time during the game. In other words, we finished better than we started.
2. We made full use of our bench with everyone in the team having significant playing time.

Cheers

FL