In line with the slow-down of the whole country towards the Chinese New Year holiday we have also slowed down our match reporting. Nevertheless, just in time before firecrackers, travel madness and other lunar new year delights brighten up our days, here is a summary of what happened in the past days and weeks in the premier league.

Lions vs. ReUnited

On the last day of January the highlight of the gameweek was the encounter between first and second in the premier league. Of course our ambition was to remain unbeaten and move to first in the table by beating the Lions. The game started very intense but without too many clear chances on both sides. Lions managed to create some space in their offensive movements, however none of these attacks resulted in very clear chances. About 20 minutes into the game Lions played a high ball into the box. The ball slipped through our defense and when Lions’ Romain Haution received the ball Cody was standing in his way and the referee did not hesitate to reward Lions with a penalty. Azzeddine took the responsibility and converted to a 1-0 Lions lead. As the Lions were defending deeply in their half we were not able to create too many chances. However shortly before halftime we were rewarded a free kick on the left side outside the box. Karsten took the ball and put it with a beautiful long shot into the net – 1-1. Yet just minutes before half time Lions managed to strike back when Lions’ Romain passed Essien on our left side and put a high ball just in front of the goal line, where Matthieu Witkowski waited and headed the ball into goal for a 2-1 Lions halftime lead. In second half we stepped up our efforts, however we did not manage to score the equalizer. Towards the end of the game Lions’ Fabien Barbet played a handball in the box, which resulted in the second penalty of the day. However Lions’ keeper read Seb’s shot well and it remained 2-1 until the end of the game. Lions’ lead in the table was 5 points now, but we will lock horns with them again towards the end of the season in what is hopefully a final battle for the title.

Azzurri vs. ReUnited

One week later we played Azzurri FC, who have been steadily improving their performance since the beginning of the season. With our coach being in Germany and several players missing, we still managed to have a strong squad together with support from our two floaters Joe and Alvaro Roca. From the start it was clear that this would be a close game. Azzurri seemed to have been learning lessons from the Lions and also defended deeply inside their own half. This meant that most of our chances were shots from distance. On the other sides Azzurri also did not get close to the goal, apart from some standard situations resulting from our own mistakes. So the halftime score remained 0-0. In second half we stepped up our offensive efforts and created more pressure over the wings. When Luismi played a long ball on Steve, Steve was tackled by Azzurri’s defender in the box we demanded a penalty. One of the rare attacks of Azzurri in second half ended with the same claim on the other side. However none of the teams managed to score until 90th minute so the game ended 0-0. We were relieved to hear that Lions also drew against Long Tang, meaning the gap on top remained unchanged.

Hebiguchi Cup: ReUnited vs. Japan

The last weekend before the big holiday was reserved for the Hebiguchi cup semi-final. Our opponent that day was Japan FC. The game started with a minute of silence (pictured below) for Mr. Hebiguchi of Japan FC, who sadly passed away on the fields of Tianma many years ago and is still remembered by all SIFL teams and players by playing the annual Hebiguchi cup.

We started with Cody in goal and our usual defensive line Essien, Seb, Will, and Thomas. Alex and David started on the wings, Karsten and Xiao Liu in defensive midfield, Tobi upfront. Steve had to serve his country (meaning one of his first absences in years), but Lee Rowbotham was there to fill the gap. Furthermore we had Lucas and Robert starting as substitutes. We knew very well that Japan are a strong team and certainly better than what our previous results against them might lead to believe. Yet our defense was solid and we stopped most of their attacks already in midfield. After a brilliant combination over a few players it was Lee then who managed to get the ball inside Japan’s box and after the keeper blocked his first shot, the ball bounced back to him and Lee lobbed it over the keeper into a 1-0 lead. We kept playing our game very focused and so it was not long until Alex ran hallway down the pitch on the right side, dribbled a few Japan defenders and passed the ball to Lucas. Lucas took the ball and converted to the second goal of the day. Our tactics worked well and while we created a few more chances, Japan got only through corners and free kicks close to our box.
In second half Japan started very strong and we made some avoidable mistakes in building up the game. This increased the pressure on our defense, yet we managed to avoid any real damage. Just in this period of intense Japan pressure, Alex gave some gentle advice to Cody on how to pass him the ball (sorry, censored). Cody did so and his long ball deep into the left side of Japan’s half arrived right at Alex’ foot, who started another one of his sprints towards the goal. With a precise shot Alex beat the keeper and made it 3-0. Then, 20 minutes before end Steve showed up with a surprise appearance straight from his home country match. It did not take long until he got the ball outside the box and with a beautiful long distance shot (see cover picture) he beat the keeper for a 4-0 ReUnited lead. Knowing that he must compress all his performance into 20 minutes that day, shortly after he let another goal follow and we were up 5-0. Just in the very last minute we conceded a counter attack goal, making the final score 5-1, yet that did not change much any more. For the second year in a row we made it to the Hebiguchi cup final and in an effort to repeat last year’s success we are facing another battle against Lions there.