The last few weeks brought us an almost equal amount of ups and downs. While we lost the semifinals in the SIFL cup against Shooters and failed to defend our Hebiguchi cup title in the final against Lions, we stayed on target in the league with two wins over Oranje and Long Tang AFC.
After a long four weeks break we started again on April 18 in the SIFL cup against Shooters. Out of the last three games against them we won two and drew one, so our only goal was to win the game and advance to the SIFL cup final. However it was obvious that the long break had taken its toll. We rarely found into our gameplay and conceded an early 1-0. We did not manage to create enough danger while Shooters managed to add another goal before half time. Second half showed an improved performance by our squad, however none of our efforts were rewarded with a goal. It was all or nothing in the end and while we threw everything we had ahead, Shooters managed to convert one of their counter attacks into a 3-0 final score.
One week later it was time for league action again. Our opponent was for the third time this season Oranje FC. After two wins in the first two games we wanted to earn another three points and close the gap to Lions, who were still 6 points ahead of us with us having one game in hand. It was a day of great harmony between our Ukrainian horse Alex and our Burundian artist Stevie Wonder: three assists by Alex, thee times converted by Steve – a clear 3-0 victory. At the same time Lions drew 3-3 against Shooters, which reduced the gap between our teams to 4 points. A “final” against Lions would still be possible.
After another gamefree week we locked horns again with Lions in the Hebiguchi cup finals, in which we were the defending champions. Lions started strong into the game and punished some of our mistakes while building up the game from the back early on, making a 2-0 halftime score. While we contained their offensive players pretty well in second half we pressed more towards their goal, however we did not manage to get very dangerous. It remained 2-0 until the end and Lions succeeded us in winning the Hebiguchi cup.
Last Saturday we played for the fourth and final time Long Tang AFC this season. Long Tang’s performances and squads change often change randomly like Shanghai’s air quality, therefore we were prepared for a strong opponent. Much to our delight we had our long-time injured Mandela back, and boy – what a comeback he had again. After conceding an early goal we controlled the game and created many chances. It took until the 80th minute though that Mandela scored his comeback goal to make it 1-1-1. The game went only in one direction now. With three minutes left in the game Mandela crowned himself comeback king once again and scored the 2-1 winner. This result leaves all chances intact to finish the season on top. We cannot wait to play the last four games of the season against Shooters, Lions and Azzurri.
