Not even a typhoon could put a dampener on the 25th anniversary celebrations of expat soccer club Red Lions FC.
A special tournament, months in the planning, looked in grave danger when the original venue was rendered unusable after Typhoon Senlaku did its worst. However, frantic last minute efforts saved the day and the sun shone on Taipei’s Dajia Riverside Park on Sunday as eight sides battled it out in two groups of four.
Club chairman Nick Alexander puts the Lions’ unusual longevity down to team spirit.
“It’s perhaps an exaggeration but it is a bit like a family,” Alexander, an English teacher at the British Council says. “We go out for a drink after games and get together at weekends, even when we don’t have games.”
Soccer proved a good way for Alexander to find his feet in Taiwan when he arrived here in 1996.
“When you first get here you don’t know the situation but through football you can find people who can help out with finding jobs and so on. People helped each other a lot,” Alexander says.
Another stalwart, Paddy O’Sullivan, recalls one of the club’s finest hours.
“We went on a tour of Cambodia and had arranged to play a friendly game at the national stadium,” the 18-year club veteran explains. “We got a hell of a shock when we arrived to find it full of spectators with armed soldiers ringing the touchline.”
The Lions ended up playing the Cambodian army side, putting up a good fight before going down 1-0.
“We hit the post in the last minute, which was probably just as well, as the crowd were pretty lively,” O’Sullivan says.
Alas, there was no fairytale victory for the Lions on Sunday, despite fielding two teams, one of which was a veterans lineup including former players who traveled from as far afield as Hong Kong, China, Singapore and even the UK to take part.
Both sides finished third in their respective groups, which meant the current Red Lions and the veterans met each other in a play-off clash.
Perhaps the hectic schedule of four games in one day had taken its toll, or maybe it was the after-effects of Saturday night’s pub crawl around old haunts kicking in, but the Lions sides decided not to play the game and had a penalty shoot-out instead.
The veterans called on all their experience to put the youngsters in their place and earn victory, perhaps claiming bragging rights for the next 25 years.
To find out more about the Lions, visit www.redlionsfc.org.
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