Match Review: Gaulois Sports Club vs International Lions FC

• GK Fauzi Johari
• DF Ivan Gosio
• DF Maxence Ribalet
• MD Francois Bazin
• MD Jean-Baptiste Bois
• MD Esmar Ehab
• MD Fionn O Tighearnaigh
• MD Pierre Lelong
• ST Anatole Rousseau
• ST Eric Clermont
• ST Rodrigo Agundez

• DF Gabriel Royere
• MD Theo Chartier
• MD Unni Kazhakkumara

Good battle

With an early kick off on a saturday at 11am under a stifling heat, Gaulois SC was ready for this first league against International Lions. Despite some new players and good friendlies display in August, GSC was not starting the game as favorite. After only two minutes Gaulois SC got the opportunity to open the scoreboard but Anatole could not finish with his header on a good cross from JB. Few minutes later after a bad pass in the middle, IL winger got the best of our defender and opened the scoreboard. The game was pretty balanced from then and GSC missed the opportunity to score the equalizer and got punished once again on a passive attitude in the midfield and defense. 2-0 IL at HT. The 1st 20min of the 2nd half did not see many opportunities on both sides. Yet, GSC managed to come back to 2-1 after Fionn got back the ball after the cross from Gab got released by the GK. Then GSC had two opportunities to equalize with Unni and Rod, but none of them materialized. After the final subs from both teams, GSC kept fighting hard to equalise. IL kept composed and did the break 10min before the end: 3-1. Last minute goal sealed the game. 4-1, Well done to IL! A good mix of experienced and young players. We will try to bounce back next week against Gaelic. Allez Gaulois!

• Gerard Merken GK
• Oussama Labib DF
• Charif Taieb DF
• Ilzan Faris DF
• Nordine Talhi DF
• Amine Cherif MD
• Julio Vasquez MD
• Nicolas Beninger MD
• Maxime Dacier ST
• Robert Eziakor ST
• Sergio Moreno ST

• Raynal Singh DF
• Marc Fedal DF
• Thélonious Linden MD
• David Park ST
• Ashwin Kalaichelvan ST

A good start to the season.

Int'l Lions and Gaulois gathered on this very hot Saturday 11am for the very first game of the season. The pre-season not being the best for Int'l lions with only one friendly played, we knew it was going to be a tough game against Gaulois who always offer a tough battle on the field, even more as Gaulois came with good results from their pre-season friendlies and some new faces. That being said, Int'l Lions came in full force with 16 players and with clear intent to get on the ball early and play the same football that we displayed at the end of last season. The game started well for both teams with OGS creating a few chances in the first half, all saved by the amazing Int'l Lions goalkeeper. Int'l Lions managed to score twice in quick transition. First with Sergio getting on the ball at the halfway line and beating the Gaulois defender in a one-on-one before slotting it in for a good finish. Then with Max getting the ball after a great interception from Nordine at the back and doing a bit of his magic on the left side before finding the net. Half time 2-0 and we knew Gaulois would come back strong. Second half started well for the Gaulois, putting pressure high and scoring when a cross from their right side created a bit of chaos in front of the keeper, for anatole to then find the net. 2-1. Bringing our quality subs with Ray, Ashwin, Thelo, new signing David and Marc was what we needed. The fresh Int'l Lions players came strongly especially with Marc solid as a rock in defense and Thelo bringing some tempo in midfield. This resulted in 2 additional goals for a final win 4-1. The score sheet will seem harsh for Gaulois who had a good game with their new signings and we know that in other days, the game could have gone in another way. Lots of things to work on for Int'l Lions but we take the win and 3 points for the first game of the season and are looking forward to facing the Gaulois in the cup in a few weeks time! All the best to them for the season and thanks to Brad and the refereeing team.