The conditions of Shanghai footballs pitches seem to be in a perpetual muddiness this season as 3United faced off against their old division rivals, Hstone in the first round of the SIFL Cup on a waterlogged pitch. In the past, 3United and Hstone have had some bloody battles with split in outcomes and today it was time for another showdown.

3United was motivated from the get go. They employed great team play and passing actions to launch piercing attacks on the Hstone defense. Within 10 minutes they were rewarded with their first goal as Julian Wolff received a throughball down the right flank, blew past the defender and neatly slotted a ball past the keeper for the 1-0. In the next 15 minutes, 3United was able to net another 2 goals due to the hard work of Pierre Marconnet and Nick Law, giving 3U a 3 goal lead. Hstone stepped up their game nearing the end of the second half and was awarded a corner kick. A Hstone midfielder was able to field a defensive header out of the box and volleyed a shot into the wind, curving down into the corner of the net. The second half finished, 3-1 to 3United.

In the second half Hstone had much more tenacity in their play and created a lot more problems for 3U. Although 3U maintained slightly more ball possession, for the first 20 minutes of the half it was Hstone who had the more dangerous possessions, pushing an array of counterattacks into the 3U half. But it was the 3U defense who came out on top, not only stopping the counters but also starting the actions that led to the next two goals. Newcomer, Guillaume Jeannerot was able to curve a right footed shot around the diving keepers hands and lead goal scorer, Nick Law, looped a shot from the edge of the box into the top right corner to secure 3U’s win. The game ended 5-1 to 3United, seeing them move into the quarterfinals of the SIFL cup.

Man of the match honors: the bull in the back, Alejandro Verni