(CNN) — Travel often brings plenty of rest and relaxation, but for a football club from the small island nation of Martinique, that may not have been the case on its recent trip to northern France.
Golden Lion FC were hammered 12-0 by Ligue 1 side Lille in their Coupe de France match on Saturday, although the scenes afterwards at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy supported the saying: “It’s not about destiny, it’s about the journey.”
Golden Lion FC from the city of Saint-Joseph in the Caribbean nation of approximately 396,000 people and as champions of Martinique, were selected along with several other teams from overseas French territories in the draw for the French Cup.
According to Reuters, the team began the more than 13,000 km round trip with a direct flight to Paris on Wednesday before heading to Lille, a northern city located near the Franco-Belgian border.
Golden Lion FC fans could be seen in good spirits around the stadium before the match, including one with a trombone, and the players took to the field with enthusiasm.
Merci aux supporters de Golden Lion également, vous étiez géniaux
pic.twitter.com/PBvwM8aTDE — LOSC (@losclive) January 6, 2024
Lille, however, did not have to wait long to start the goal celebrations, as Youssef Yazisi opened the scoring in the 11th minute. The Golden Lions kept the match relatively competitive until the 25th minute, when Les Dogs (Lille) forward Jonathan David scored. First at night.
Yusuf Yazisi scored his team’s first goal against Golden Lion FC. (Samir Al-Doumi/AFP/Getty Images)
Kosovo winger Adon Zagrova scored a hat-trick nine minutes into the first half and both David and Yazici made it 7-0 at half-time.
The second half was not much better on the pitch, as Les Dogs scored another five goals, including David, who completed his hat-trick, making the score 12–0 at the end of the match, Lille’s biggest win. History of the club.
However, despite the big loss, the Golden Lion players and fans could be seen taking it all in and enjoying the occasion, a rare, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime match against their team’s top five sides. France team.
Jonathan David (right) celebrates one of his goals with fellow hat-trick hero Adon Zegrova. (Johnny Fidelin/Icon Sport/Getty Images)
After the match, the Lille players gave the Golden Lion team a guard of honor as they walked off the field smiling and proud of their efforts.
Lille coach Paulo Fonseca said after the match that it was important to respect both the Martinique team and its own fans and give maximum effort.
“We played a committed game, which was the main objective. We respect our opponents and fans. It was important to play the game with intensity,” Fonseca said. “The most important thing was to win and qualify. Today we did a lot of good things, we pressed a lot and created a lot of chances. “We were very professional.”
While the score will be one Lille fans will never forget, the journey to (and back from) Northern France will certainly be remembered by the Golden Lion team and its supporters.
