Lions beat Voodoo Child in the summer heat

It was super hot last Saturday with 35 degrees and no place to hide. We had a small squad as some of our older players had to play on Sunday and two games in a summer weather like that would be too much.

We were lucky that Jason and Max our former U18 players came back from the USA for the summer. They were a welcome addition to our team. It was our last game of the season and we wanted to keep our unbeaten run. For Voodoo Child, a win over us would give them the 2nd place. So, both teams were playing for the win.

Very quickly, the speed of the game dropped as all players realized the impact of the heat on the body and mind. Voodoo Child did get a couple of corners but couldn’t convert them.

It was Peter who started a run from the middle. While having options to pass to the left or right, he opted to keep running instead until he got close to the keeper and finish his great run with a perfect strike. The 1-0 lead tasted good but we knew it was still a long time before the final whistle. We did come close to score a 2nd goal when Jason hit the post. Othmane too took a great free kick on the edge of the box only to see his effort come off the cross bar.

In the 2nd half, Voodoo Child pushed more forward and we struggled to keep the ball in possession. However, on a counter they fouled Jason in the box and Othmane was cool to convert the penalty. Voodoo Child got a goal back when we didn’t intercept their forward’s run.

[ SIFL ] Shanghai Lions FC 2-1 Voodoo Child

When the final whistle came, it was both relief and exhaustion. Glad we won! In the plate competition, we won all our 8 games and scored 32 goals which is a good record.

This coming Saturday, we will play the plate cup final against Cosmos. We are looking forward to a good battle and a great end of the season.

Well done Lions!

Cheers

Freek