Traveling is normally the start of a period of leisure and relaxation, but for one soccer club from the small island nation of Martinique, that may not have been the case on its recent journey to northern France.
Golden Lion FC was beaten 12-0 by Lille in the French Cup on Saturday, but the accompanying scenes at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy lent credence to the adage, “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” Golden Lion originates from Saint-Joseph, a Caribbean nation with an estimated population of 396,000 people, and, as Martinique’s champion, was drawn into the Coupe de France among many other teams from overseas French territories.
According to Reuters, the team began the almost 8,600-mile round trip on Wednesday with a direct flight to Paris before continuing to the northern city of Lille, which is close to the French-Belgian border. Golden Lion supporters, including one trombone player, could be seen throughout the stadium in excellent spirits ahead of the match, and the players took to the pitch with vigour.
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Lille, on the other hand, did not waste time getting started, with Yusuf Yazc scoring in the 11th minute. Golden Lion kept the game close until the 25th minute, when Les Dogues forward Jonathan David scored his first goal of the night.
Edon Zhegrova, a Kosovan winger, scored a hat-trick in the first half, and David and Yazc each added another to make it 7-0 at the break. The second half was not much better on the pitch, with Les Dogues scoring five more goals, including David’s hat-trick, to make it 12-0 at the end, Lille’s largest win in club history.
Despite the significant loss, Golden Lion players and fans were seen taking it all in and relishing the event as a rare, potentially once-in-a-lifetime match-up for their team against one of France’s top five sides. After the game, Lille players formed a guard of honor for the Golden Lions, who went off the field joyful and pleased with their efforts. After the game, Lille manager Paulo Fonseca stated that it was critical to respect both the Martinique-based team and his own fans by exerting the utmost effort.
“The main goal was for us to play a committed match.” We respected both our opponents and the audience. “It was critical to play an intense match,” Fonseca added. “Winning and qualifying were the most important things.” We did a lot of good today, pressed aggressively, and generated a lot of opportunities. We were quite professional.” While the result will be one Lille fans will never forget, the Golden Lion squad and its supporters are sure to always remember the trip—and back—to Northern France.
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