Senior team let its lead “slip” against ReUnited
Last Saturday it was super cold with a strong wind from the North of China and the field was super heavy due to the rains the night before the match and we were up against league leaders Reunited who won all their matches except for one which they drew !
For us we tried to build on the positives of the match against Azzurri and we knew that we would need to play at our best in order to have a chance to get a result !
Reunited started very strong and we struggled in the first 10 minutes we played against the strong wind and didn’t manage to keep the ball very long due to the difficult pitch ! They almost scored when we failed to clear the ball in defense as well they were dangerous with a couple of corners who almost flew in the goal due to the wind ! Tim our keeper had to make a good save to keep our cleansheet !
After we weathered the storm we got more grip on the midfield with our youngster Seiwa doing a great job as number 10 and Peter and Cyril behind him helping the defense. When we got the ball we were looking for Samad and Hsam upfront and we did get some opportunities !
It was from a free kick which Pat crossed in and found Samad his effort was blocked but the ball landed in front of Hsam and he didn’t hesitate to blast the ball in the top of the net !
Going into half time with a 1-0 lead was good and we decided to keep on playing to look for our second goal instead of trying to defend our lead for 45 minutes !
Reunited tried to get back in the game but in this game we were solid in the back with Jack back at his best winning all the headers we started to keep longer spells of possession in the midfield and looking for the second goal. Hira-san had a perfect cross to Samad who was completely free in front of the goal but to his horror he slipped with nobody around him ! Soon after he did have a nice volley but the his effort was saved by the Reunited keeper !
With 20 minutes to go, disaster struck as Pat (playing on his 3rd boots of the season) suddenly slip ped… The Reunited forward was alone to strike on goal 1-1. Very unlucky and it was a big blow to us and Reunited tried to push for the win. They got a dangerous free kick which ended just on the outside of the goal and Tim had to make another great save at the end of the match to salvage the draw.
[ SIFL ] Shanghai Lions FC 1-1 Shanghai ReUnited
After the final whistle we were disappointed to let slip 2 important points… On the positive side, we were happy with our team effort as we showed great spirit in this game. As well the substitutes who were frozen on the side line kept supporting the team until the very end.
We will play Japan next and nothing but a win will do for us !
Lets go Lions !
Cheers
Freek
