No sign of jetlag in Wellington United Diamonds’ first game

Teams travel from all over the world to play in Gothia Cup, and doing so they cover a lot of distance. None more so than our two teams from New Zealand. When Wellington United Diamonds took to the field for their first game today, they had a 30 hour journey behind them, covering approximately 18000 kilometres.

Wellington to Melbourne, then Singapore, London, Stockholm and finally arriving in Gothenburg. That was the travel itinerary. It’s been a long journey for the girls of Wellington United Diamonds. But when they took to the field for their first game of the tournament there were no signs of jetlag or tired legs. Beating Swedish side Eskilsminne IF 3-1 with an impressive display.

“We spent a week in London before going to Sweden. Travelling for so long is very tiring, so it was well needed to get some time on the ground to get that out of our system”, says Sophie, one of the players in the team.

Their first impressions of Sweden is that it’s very different from back home. Cars driving on the “wrong side” of the road for starters. The girls agree that it’s the furthest away anyone of them have been from home. But getting a win under their belt in their first game of the tournament will surely help them settle. Sam, Amanda and Sophie, three of players in the team, are smiling talking about the victory.

“It’s very exciting to be here and we’re very happy with the result. It’s very hard to know what to expect from the opposition here, but winning our first game gives us a lot of confidence. Especially coming from behind to do so”, they say.

What they expect from the rest of the tournament is thus far up in the air. Next on the agenda is to recharge for tonight’s Gothia Cup Opening Ceremony.

“We’re very grateful to be here and we’re going to enjoy it. In terms of the following matches we’re going to take them game-by-game and see how it goes”, they say.