Infamous Tea & Honey show
October 29 2011 saw the 4th round of the Shanghai International Football League underway with a full schedule. In both the premier league and first division 5 matches were played. A total of 40 goals were scored, 21 in the first division while in the premier league 19 goals were netted. The biggest score of the day for new comers DIB FC who got 9 versus Shanghai 2000 FC.
Premier League
In the premier league the Shanghai Puxi Lions aka France FC continued their wining streak and got the better of the Shanghai Vikings. The French had a lead of 2-0 at half time but then disaster struck for the Vikings. From a corner the ball went over the line but the referee did not give a goal. After that the Lions took control of the game. The Vikings did save the honor of Wodin & Donar when they scored a late goal for a 3-1 final result. Man of the match was Florentin Amouzou who scored twice for the Puxi Lions.
After having lost their first 2 opening games it was time for the mighty FC Oranje to do some damage. They played the Shanghai Nomads aka FC Kazakhstan. The Orangemen scored 1 in the 1st half and put the match away in the 2nd with 2 more for a 3-0 final score with Ayrton Viera - who has now played for every single club in the SIFL - scoring on his debut. He is the round one in the middle of the photo about to get a big a sloppy kiss from Robb Polland.
Japan played Big Bamboo Shanghai Shooters AFC and it was Japan that took the lead. But due to reasons only known to the referee the goal was disallowed. A moment later Japan had another goal disallowed due to offside. Perhaps John Joffrey is still managing to rig the league from his James Bond villians lair on an island in the Philippines. Roland Broughton did a John Terry and missed a penalty for the Shooters (and like John Terry, he cried). Stumbling over what appeared to be a lose grass patch he sent the ball miles over the goal. He continued his John Terry ways at night at the 3rd annual housewife convention in Pudong. It was the in-form Guillaume Leclerq scoring the decider for a 1-0 victory sending the Shooters back to the top of the table.
Champions Azzurri aka Italy FC put hard-nosed Beaver United to the sword at the Shanghai Rugby Club. Azzurri gave Beaver a run for the money when early in the match a dubious free kick saw them taking a 1-0 lead. Then the Beaver goalie got sent of for making a foul after 20 minutes of play, a blow that Beaver did not recover from. With 1 man down and fatigue setting in of constant fighting the blue onslaught Beaver finally succumbed in the last 10 minutes and went down 5-1. Tempers flared toward the end of the match as several Azzurri players were visibly upset complaining about messed up hair and broken nails.
The surprise of the day was in the match of Shanghai Krauts versus Happy FC. Lingering at the bottom of the table Happy FC pulled of a stunt when they edged out the German powerhouse called the Krauts. After a 1-1 score at halftime they scored 2 more for a 2-3 end result. It is their first victory in the premier league and man of the match was Youming Yao who scored 2 for Happy FC.
As a result the Krauts have now taken over the bottom of the table from Happy FC who have amassed 3 points. Beaver United is also still without a win while the middle of the table shows 4 teams with 3 points. Azzurri and Big Bamboo Shooters have won all their matches so far with the Shooters leading the table with 1 game in hand over Azzurri.
First Division
In the First Division DIB FC went on a goal scoring rampage when they trumped up Shanghai 2000 FC by 9 goals to nil. Shi Jie scored twice and 7 other players all got 1. Corea International FC played Long Tang FC and it was a match that went back and forth. Though Long Tang were leading 0-2 at half time in the second half Corea scored 2 but it was the Long Tang that outlasted them scoring another 2 for a 2-4 aggregate score. Gao Xiang scored twice for Long Tang. The family affair between Voodoo and Voodoo Child was a real battle. The Voodoo gave the Voodoo Child a sporting chance by still being drunk from Phil Boyle's Chinese wedding the night before. Many chances were created. The Voodoo Child goalie was severely beaten by a springbok protecting his adjacent pasture, after some treatment the goalie was ok and continued the match. It seemed it was going to go Voodoo Child’s way but in the dying seconds of the match the daddy equalized 1-1. FC Teranga scored once against Shanghai Cosmos for the only goal in that match snapping up 3 points. The Anzacs finally got it together for their first win of the season versus the Shanghai Sauerkrauts. Andy Pether scored twice for a final result of 3 for the Anzacs nil for the Sauerkrauts. With their 9 goal victory DIB FC have cemented their spot at the top of the table winning all their 4 matches. Voodoo and Long Tang FC follow with 7 points each. At the bottom of the table the Shanghai Saukrauts are still pointless. It’s the first time in the history of the SIFL that both German teams occupy last spot in both divisions. Not to worry boys, they only way is up!
Round 5 of the Shanghai International Football League is scheduled to take place on Nov. 5, 2011. Visit the official wesite to find out more.
