The Lions Legends Kick Off the 2025–2026 Season with a Win

It was a truly beautiful day in Shanghai—blue skies, 28°C temperatures, and a perfect green grass pitch. A great backdrop to launch our 2025–2026 Veterans League season!

We faced Ferie, a disciplined Japanese side that gave us headaches last season when we drew 4–4.

Pre-game chaos added some spice. Keeper Marcel pulled out last minute due to family reasons, and FL—our usual backup—was nowhere to be found (rare, even for someone who normally shows up 5 minutes before kickoff!). To make matters worse, Jaylen turned red-faced after forgetting his boots. Luckily, he borrowed the President’s pair—on the condition he’d go in goal!

We finally kicked off, but the summer break had clearly taken a toll. We looked rusty—missed passes, weak shots, and even Peter’s passes found more Ferie players than Lions. To be fair, their goalkeeper was in excellent form.

First 20 minutes: Goalless but plenty of effort.
Second 20 minutes: We turned up the pressure. Peter’s rocket to the top corner was miraculously saved. Soon after, debutant Adam sent in a corner that Jack nodded in—1–0. But while pushing for a second, we got caught on a break and Ferie equalized—1–1.
Third 20 minutes: A wake-up call. Skiv’s brilliant through-ball found Germain, who calmly slotted into the far corner—2–1. Ferie then rattled the crossbar, but FL (now in goal) looked totally unfazed. Shortly after, Peter sent Pierre through one-on-one, and he rounded the keeper for our third—3–1.
Final 20 minutes: We managed the lead and conserved energy. Both teams slowed, and the score remained unchanged.