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Youth team lose out vs. Dulwich Earthquakes in friendly

What strange weather we had this weekend… On Saturday morning we got one of the largest downpours of the year. Therefore, we feared that our friendly game vs Dulwich Earthquakes (DEQ) would be canceled… Thank god it was not. When we arrived this Sunday, the field looked good… just a bit soft. We didn’t have our full squad with a couple of regulars missing for various reasons. However, Hugo, Hans, and Adam were making their debut which was positive.

It was our 1st match since the summer break and you could tell that both teams were a bit rusty as could not make two or three passes in a row. When you lose the ball that quickly, it’s hard and it costs energy to get the ball back. Dulwich Earthquakes took the lead after we failed to clear the ball in defense. We had a couple of corners and a free-kick to get back in the game but DEQ scored their second after we were caught out being too high-up on the field.

We tried to get our rhythm back and we thought we got our goal when Adam sets up his brother Aaron. Free road to the goal but DEQ’s last defender pulled Aaron’s shirt who stayed on his feet… Advantage but his effort went just wide of the right post.

We did get our goal after a cross-in from Phillip to Hugo. Nice 1st goal for his debut with the Lions. Five minutes later Phillip got the chance to equalize when he went one on one with the keeper… Unfortunately, he did not score. Instead, DEQ scored the 3rd goal after a powerful strike from outside the box which left Jay without a chance to stop it.

At the halftime talk, we asked the players to play more as a team, to keep longer possession, and decided to reorganize our defense. Both teams were finding it hard to create opportunities… guess the legs were getting tired. With 7 minutes to go and the rain coming down hard, both team managers finally decided to end up the game.

[ Friendly ] Shanghai Lions FC 1-3 Dulwich Earthquakes

Of course, it’s just the 1st match of the season but we could see that fitness and strength need to improve. Those are key parts of football; especially when the conditions are not easy to play.

Today we got a notification from L Sports Park that we cannot train this coming Tuesday. The whole complex will be closed due to the latest typhoon alert scheduled early this week. We are planning to move this training session to Saturday 18th of September from 12:00 to 14:00 instead (to be confirmed).

Let’s focus on the training first and get back in shape. We will plan an F45 session soon for that purpose.

Cheers
Pat, Nick & Freek

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