3United were set to face off against the Cosmos when the first snow of 2016 hit Shanghai on Saturday morning. Much to the dismay of the players at the bus stop on the way to Songjiang, it looked like it was set to snow for hours. Fortunately on arrival, the ground was only covered in a light powdering of snow and it all but had stopped snowing. The layer of snow on the ground was quickly smashed into the dirt during the first game of the day between ReU and Japan leaving a lovely, all too familiar muddiness for midday game between the 1st division teams.

The first half started off a little slowly as all the players were getting used to the pitch conditions. After getting adequately muddied and acclimated, a rhythm was developed where 3U kept the majority of the possession while the Cosmos tried to counter with throughballs. 3U missed a couple of good chances but it was the Cosmos’s constant attrition and energy on the counter that led to the first goal of the game. The Cosmos were able to win a 50/50 ball in the midfield and place a quick throughball to Jordan Campbell left 1 on 1 with a defender. With that magic touch of his, he lofted a sailing shot into the wind that floated over the outstretched arms of Joren Bredman into goal. This took some wind out of 3U’s sails (no pun intended) and for the rest of the half the Cosmos were the more dangerous side. However, no other goals were scored before the halftime whistle, ending with the Cosmos in the lead 1-0.

3United made some quick tactical changes in the second half to combat the cold and the Cosmos both and were able to bring themselves out of their offensive rut. Straight out of the starting blocks, 3United had more energy, more pace and more fight than their counterparts and it shone through very quickly. Within 10 minutes of controlled, aggressive play, Hamse Ali cut a ball across the top of the box finding Nick Law alone, where he put a clinical shot past the diving keeper. 1-1. Only 5 minutes later, Hamse Ali made a slicing run from the left side across the box, received a ball from Marco Gauden to feet and 1-touched a bounding shot past the keeper. 2-1, 3U. The next 15 minutes was a 3United attack-fest of great passing play and moving the ball around the field, launching attack after attack on the Cosmos defense. The Cosmos defense did well to not let another 1 or 2 past and eventually asserted themselves more into the game. The last ten minutes the Cosmos pushed hard with all but their keeper trying to push into the 3U half. But 3U held strong and were able to get rid of all danger despite the many throw-ins and occasional corner kick deep in 3U territory. In a well-deserved comeback, 3United were the victors in this battle with a scoreline of 2-1.

Man of the match honors: Alejandro Verni

This match extended 3U’s unbeaten streak to 9 games and also saw Nick Law’s 10th goal of the season, with him averaging 1.4 goals (7 games played) per league game.