Legends & Seniors had a friendly in L Sports Park
It was a beautiful day on a beautiful pitch! As all the leagues in Shanghai were cancelled due to Covid we thought it would be a great opportunity to play among ourselves for an friendly game among the Lions. Nothing better to make an extra effort when you know your opponents are sleeping. We booked the natural grass field at L Sports Park which beside being very expensive is also one of the best field you can play soccer in Shanghai today.
We had a great line up signed up of Senior and Legends players but too our BIG disappointment several players didn’t show up and even didn’t bother to tell us they couldn’t make it. Trust me… you all had your reasons…Yes, it was Skiv‘s birthday party the night before… Yes, FL probably left the place last at 02:00 am but he came to the game… and above all, Skiv who came home much later than anyone else due to his work came to play with a big smile on his face!
So the legends had 11 players with Freek as goalkeeper. The Seniors on their side had to play with 10 to start the game including Henry’s father who came to watch the match. We played 30 minutes at first and the legends found it easier to pass the ball around as the Seniors were not playing with their usual formation. Legends took the lead by an easy finish from Nico L. but the seniors came back on a counter when Henry (youth) intercepted a pass addressed to the defense to address the keeper with calm. The 2nd legends goal was nice as it started from the right defense ended on left right wing though several players and Hira crossed and Nico sliced it in the top of the net.
In the next 30 minutes, the Senior were playing more pressing and it was more difficult for the legends to come out of their half. Henry, our senior left defender equalized with a low strike. Soon, Masa-san found the net as well as he was playing forward now. The legends didn’t give up here as another great combination play this time on the left ended in the feet of Tiago (Vincent’s son) who didn’t hesitate to finish!
In the last part of this friendly game, both teams went full out on attack and it was really fun to play as there were several scoring opportunities on both ends. The final score if I remember well was 4-4. A great end to a great morning in L Sports Park!
Cheers
Freek