Shanghai Lions FC

Saturday, October 18th 2003. Concordia School soccer pitch.

As Les Bleus were exempted that Saturday, a friendly game was arranged against Lions 2000 to prepare the tough encounter against Shooters. First surprise of the game: Max was back! Some other players made their come back: Adrien Choux, back for some time, Santiago after his interlude for Lions, and Oruma.

The game started on a fast pace. Lions had the ball and their circulation was good. However, Les Bleus starting line up was well positioned on the pitch, and they did not leave much space for their opponents. Lions couldn't really approach the box. It slowly turned to the advantage of Les Bleus, who developed several quick counter attacks that could have ended in the net. The first half ended with a draw, 0-0.

The second half started very quickly. In the first minutes, David Y. got a good ball on the right side. He crossed it perfectly to the second post for David O. who headed it! 1-0 Les Bleus! As the coach wanted to try different solutions, some changes were made on the line-up. It seemed to slightly change the balance of the midfield. Lions took the opportunity, and it did not take long before they came back in the game. In the next 20 minutes, they even scored two more goals. Some more changes later, and Les Bleus seemed to come back into the game. The team was in good shape, and physically slowly took over their opponents. Damien put the game back in the right direction with a far shot that surprised the keeper (and maybe even the shooter!). Les Bleus had several opportunities, and finally, Damien gave a good pass to Jerome on the right, who crossed first touch a nice ball in the box. Amer was there to head it. Final score: 3-3.

Comments: "We had a solid first half. We needed to make changes to try some new possibilities before next week game. The team had a good come back. The other good point is that we are physically fit. Training starts paying!"