No surprises here. The 2018-19 AFLC Championship Game will feature the Shanghai Titans and Shanghai Warriors for the second consecutive year, and will once again take place at Zhangjiang Sports Center in Pudong, with kickoff set for 12:30pm this Saturday. Here is Life in the Huddle’s preview of the next chapter of possibly China’s most exciting football rivalry.
In the last meeting between the two teams back in August, the Warriors seemed to move the ball at will, especially in the second half. Quarterback Chris Gardner (#2) is an excellent passer and runner, but the Titans have largely contained him on the ground the last few times these two teams have met.
Wide receiver Harry Du (#26) has improved quickly in his first season playing tackle football, and he will be another player to watch for on offense. The Titans will depend on linebackers Paco Lam (#50) and Ben Huang (#32), both small but aggressive defenders, to keep Gardner contained, while safety Jibril Rasheed (#16) will be counted on to make sure the Warriors don’t hit any long passing plays.
Titans receivers Cam Shubert (#4) and Eason Chen (#47) have missed significant time this season, but will certainly give the Titans offense a boost with their return this game. Running back Lane Shen (#1) has had a phenomenal year, and has often played well against the Warriors. This balance that the Titans offense possesses has often caused trouble for the Warriors, particularly early in games, as the Warriors always seem to take some time to adjust to the speed of the Titans offense.
Defensive end Tiger Yu (#96) has had a monster season for the Warriors, setting a team record with 10 tackles for loss, while linebacker Ibrahim Ma (#30) has been a thorn in the Titans’ side, with fourth quarter fumble return touchdowns in each of the previous two games between these teams. Cornerback Tim Tang (#91) played shutdown defense against the Titans back in August, and will once again be counted on to neutralize whoever lines up against him.
The Warriors are gunning for back-to-back and three overall AFLC championships, which no other team has accomplished. The Titans will be looking for revenge after heartbreaking losses to the Warriors in last year’s championship game and in this season’s first regular season game.
Watch the game by clicking here. Shanghai Titans v. Shanghai Warriors, Sat. Jan. 12, 12:30p (5:30a CEST, 11:30p Jan. 11 EST).
There are some livestreaming issues and the link might not work for everyone. The text in the middle of the screen, translated from the Chinese: You have not installed the flash player, please click here to install (Tips: If you have already installed the latest version of flash, please set the browser to allow the flash plugin to be loaded). In other words, click on the link to install flash player.