VA ODP Girls Day 5: Coupe de la Ligue

Breakfast at 6:00AM (France time, that's midnight back home). Bags packed onto a van while we hop on an hour bus ride to catch the high-speed train. Averaging a little over 140 miles per hour, we make the 7 hour car ride in 2 hr 15 min. Pretty cool experience through the French country side, not sure how many saw it through their naps.... trust us, it was amazing.

Bienvenue a Bordeaux!

A truly local lunch, with the choice of duck, salmon, steak or chicken and french fries. Some sightseeing for the boys as the girls made it over to the Regional Football Centre. The 02s had a match vs Girondins de Bordeaux.

The huge pitch and various changes in weather brought an interesting match to the spectators who could handle the wind, rain and periodic sun. The hosts dominated possession, some key players on the French side ping the ball around and they open the scoring with a quick counter as we lose possession in the build up phase. Late in the first half, they fail to clear a corner and we capitalize for a 1-1 half time score. The 2nd half echoes the first but we take advantage of a mistake to eventually win the match 2-1.

PSG vs Monaco was the must have ticket for the day, fans streaming in from all over France. The pre-game doesn't disappoint with fireworks and a light show. Most of the coaches, going for the underdogs but within 3 min, PSG win a pk and convert. A wide open first half with chances a begging, PSG eventually run away 3 nil with goals in the 2nd half to win a very important trophy.

The sights and sounds of a huge match don't go unnoticed, from the layers of security checks, police in place, to the fandom.

Big day for VA ODP Sunday, all teams play...

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