Youth tied with Juventus 3-3 in the Summer Heat
Originally, we had 17 players on the list for this friendly game against Juventus Academy Shanghai but we got last moment drop-outs while facing 34 degrees with no clouds summer heat… Well, we knew it would not going to be easy! Luckily we got Philipp willing to help out in goal giving us an extra-man on the bench.
It was clear that this summer heat will play a major role as many players were already looking at the sideline asking for substitution early in the game. Still, it was good to welcome Matty back in the squad who didn’t play for the last 6 months while being abroad. It was a dribble from Matty who ran himself into 3 defenders but still got a small touch to pass to Lewis who gave us the 1-0 lead. It was early in the game and within 5 minutes Juventus leveled the score 1-1.
Playing 4 spells of 20 minutes we started to get grip on the game in the second 20 with us having more possession and fighting hard to get the ball back when we lost it. Also, our confidence was getting stronger and stronger it resulted in a fine finish from Yuv after Juventus defense couldn’t clear the ball from a cross in!
In the third 20 we controlled the midfield and created more and more counter-attacks and after a couple, it was Matty scoring the 3-1 at a counter.
In the last 20 minutes, we tried to defend what we achieved as a team so far and all looked good but a free kick on the far left sailed over Philipp to bring Juventus back in the game. With 5 minutes to go, we thought we got a clear penalty when Matty was fouled in the box but the referee might have been too tired to blow the whistle in the very last minute while we have blocked all their through balls for 79 minutes one slipped through and the Juventus player was one on one with our keeper he scored and the final score 3-3 was a fact!
Given the severe conditions, we must give big compliments to all the players today as you all showed character, teamwork as well as team spirit. We were very happy today with our new players Justin Diego & Subaru-san… Well done to all the parents who came out to watch and gave support to our players!
We will let you know about the next event either a match or training next week. We will try to get an earlier morning or evening slot in order to avoid the summer heat.
Have a good rest and see you next week.
Cheers
Freek, Pat & Nick