Great victory with half the team missing from start

Four 12-year-old boys have made one of the sweatiest achievements so far. They come from Taiwan where they play for Wun-Chang Elementary School. Their team in Boys 13 came to Gothenburg with only six players, and one of them is injured.
The Boys 12-team played their match this morning at Heden and it ended only five minutes before the one year older boys had their game at Överåsvallen. Partille Cup had arranged for transport and the two kilometers to Överåsvallen was driven in a hurry.

Did you make in time?
- No, ten minutes had almost passed when we got to the game. But we were happy to see that we were in the lead with 4 to 3. Our team begun the game with only four players on the field and one goalkeeper, says Kuo Ming-Yi, who got into the goal as soon as he came.
Was it hard to play two games in a row?
- No, it was no problem. We exercise together in school almost every day, says Chiu Chi-Kai confident.
Do you think you will manage to play like this the entire week?
- I hope so. We are used to play hard. But of course it can be tough in the play-offs, we might get a bit tired, Yao Han-Yang confident.
Have you played outside earlier?
- Yes, we always play outside, says Cai Hung-Sheng one of the other twelve-year-olds.
Do you play at artificial grass at home as well?
- No, we play on regular grass or tarmac back home in Taiwan. It is a bit slippery on the artificial grass, but we will be used to it soon, continues Cai.

And when the players have become used to the grass they will probably become really, really good. Because when the four younger players showed up, continued Wun-Chang to do a really good game. They won against Skogås from Sweden with 23 to 9. And it looks like the match program will suit them better in the rest of the tournament – so the boys who play in both teams will get some rest between the games.

Text: Mikael Karlholm  Photo: Carl Sandin