Seniors Play Great 2nd Half To Beat Cosmos FC

Last saturday, we had our 2nd game vs. Cosmos FC in SIFL Cup group stage. At the start of the game we were not sure what to expect with several youth players missing due to exams. Thus, we had to let our goalie Marcel play upfront by lack of field players. Cosmos FC had a large squad on their side. Having lost vs. Cosmos FC two weeks ago in the league; we started the match a bit defensive.

The rainy weather and the wind didn’t make football conditions very easy. As Cosmos FC decided to play a high defensive line; we opted for long balls over the top. It didn’t bring us any chances as we kept been caught offside… For most of the 1st half, we didn’t pass the ball well and lost possession quickly. However a low through ball from Skiv launched Hira-san and with his speed he was one on one with the keeper. He kept his cool and scored for the 1-0.

Cosmos were mainly dangerous on free kick with their tall players. A few times, we struggled to defend on 2nd ball… Still, we managed to go into half-time with the lead.

We fixed our problems at the break with a good team talk and decided to play composed to keep longer possession. We also asked our forwards to drop back more often to create more space and combination options for our upcoming defenders Masa-san and Seiwa.

Peter in the midfield stepped up his game and he was dictating our play. On one of his through-ball, Hira-san scored again for the 2-0. However, the referee thought it was wide as there were several large holes in the net. Cosmos showed their fairplay & sportsmanship and told the referee it was a goal.

[ SIFL Cup ] Shanghai Lions FC 4-0 Shanghai Cosmos FC

This 2nd goal lifted-up our spirit! With really good football combination, we created several scoring opportunities. Ryan was unlucky twice when is final ball just missed the target. Later, he took revenge as well helped by Masa-san who pulled Cosmos defenders away. He scored twice to make it 4-0 for the Lions!

The last 10 minutes we were a bit sloppy as instead of closing the defense we were rushing forward to go for the 5th goal. Cosmos FC had 2 really easy scoring opportunities but it was not their day.

Final result was a solid 4-0 win. We are looking forward to continue our progress vs. Voodoo Child next Saturday.