Bangkok Storm Football Club

2nd Game 11/10/09 4pm Kick Off

After a one week delay, the STORM finally rolled in and hit Bangkok. About bloody time is all I can say. We played a very good Bangkok United team which is composed mainly if not entirely of Japanese players. They were organized, fit and fast, but we held strong and were unfortunate not to have by a bigger margin. But against a team of that quality, we'll take a 1 - 0 victory every time. More importantly we allowed only one shot on goal, and it was the last kick of the game and it sailed high above the cross bar.

A few key factors contributed to our well earned victory. We were better prepared. Unlike the previous week, we had the whole squad dressed and ready to play with almost an hour to spare before kick off. Kenji was there to manage the game, Ron was on hand to help out and in addition to a couple of new players making their debuts, we welcomed the return of Rafa "the rock".

Keita made his debut and made an impact on our team. It was a close contest though, other contenders for that MOM award were Henri and Rafa which formed an impregnable wall in front of the goal. And a special mention has to go to Nut who was fantastic on the left side of the field. Both of our youngsters came of age today with Jay providing width and creative play out on the right. Gianni also made his debut but it was turned out to be just a sneak peak as he went off injured after ten minutes. But fair play to him, he stuck around and cheered his team on and his attitude and mentality for the team makes him a very welcome addition to our now 32 man squad.

But it was our defense that claimed the day. Cuno and June flanked Henri and Rafa and with Teles cleaning up in front of them, we dominated our half of the pitch. More impressive though was the overall team play. We passed, we moved and we supported each other very well. There were maybe some lapses in the midfield in the 2nd half, but those were things we will surely overcome as the season progresses.

Vic wanted us to defend from the front and we did. Brilliantly. We gave constant pressure and still found time to break down the other team time and time again. We didn't create as many chances as we should have, but we weren't helped by two lines man who were so flag happy. How we can be offside when our players is still in his own half, i don't know. But we were flagged for offside at least twenty times. Now, Bangkok United were very organized, but really? They sprung the offside trap on us twenty something times and it worked, every time? Come on now.

Keita broke free and tried to get cute and round the goal keeper, he failed dramatically and we can laugh about it now cause we won, but in truth, the play leading up to that breakaway was very well done and I have no doubt 9 out of 10 times, keita scores with flair. Our keeper also tried his best to ensure we would snatch a draw from the jaws of victory by coming out for a high ball against an on rushing striker. The striker jumped earlier than expected, in a fraction of a second, the keeper decided that the striker would get to the ball first and adjusted for the potential flight of the ball. The striker missed his header and the keeper flapped at the air as the ball sailed over both heads straight to (thankfully) a waiting Henri who cleared the danger brilliantly. I of course can go into this much detail because once again, I was said keeper. sigh.

That was our only mishap though, and with only one real dangerous cross into our box in the entire game, the outcome of the match was never really in any doubt by mid-way through the 2nd half.

We should have maybe finished off the game earlier, but it's only the 2nd game of the season and we improved massively from our first game. And that's really the most important thing.

Manu scored a brilliant goal with the outside of his boot, in the first half, and as it turned out, that was all we needed.

So the storm hit, and the people of Bangkok beware, it's here to stay.