by Ian James

The first two games have been played and we've  found ourselves on top of our group with four points from two games.

The free breakfast was not the best way to start the tournament, as dry cereal is not the greatest source of vitamins or flavor. Then we were off to our first game, which was against a French team that seemed more interested in smoking than playing. We outplayed them for stretches of the game but it required another late Seals comeback for us to draw level at one-one. Spencer Johnson redirected a header across goal for Johnny Guerra to volley home.

The opening ceremonies were that night and the Donasti Cup did not disappoint. In a scene out of the London Olympics the teams lined up by country and paraded through the stadium. I still believe there were thousands of adoring fans. The stadium was soon packed with over 400 teams, although unfortunately the Swedish girls' team was nowhere to be seen. The night ended with the most glorious combination of fireworks and Gloria Gaynour ever created.

The next day goalie James Webb was the only player to return to the free breakfast, he came back praising it for having both warm and cold milk.

Our second game was against ZUrriola Ikastola A, who had already won their first game. Walking on the pitch with a team of Spanish kids almost all over 6 feet was intimidating but the Seals outplayed them from start to finish, at least that's how I saw it. We scored twice in the second half to seal the win, Spencer Johnson scored on a breakaway and Johnny scored a penalty to become our top scorer.

Tomorrow's our final group game, against the last place Spanish team.

Note:  Defender Ian James is traveling with the U19 - U17 team in Spain and will be chronicleing the experience which will be posted on the Seals website.

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