Early Kick off on Sunday meant an entire Raiders squad was missed in downtown Saigon on Saturday night (a few of us still made sure we were present). A strong sign up for this match and a good turn out meant we were well set for our first victory in a while. Things started slow at Phouc Long stadium but good Raiders determination and communication saw us having some great passes in midfield and a few attempts on goal in the first half.

It was Japan who rattled the woodwork first and sent a cold shudder down the Raiders back, who weren’t very impressed though and kept on playing their game.First half also saw a yellow card for Nico, which part of the team watched from the custom bathroom stalls with live-view (pictures follow, slightly NSFW perhaps?), which also sparked some interesting Owl that ate a curry talk in the cab back, Henno knows. A halftime tactics change by Angelo saw us going into the second half with a revised defense line, great communication enabled us to find spaces and play passes that would have made Messi jealous. Sadly we lost Justin to a back injury at the end of the first half and we all hope he makes a quick recovery.

Henno’s corner deserves an honurable mention which once again proved that even on astro turf you cant be too sure about where you are stepping and we were all relieved that his misstep didn’t end up in a horrible injury and he can still stand on both feet ;).

One of the first correct referee decisions surprised the Raiders when we actually did get the penalty which was a clear foul in the box. Captain Laurie stepped up and was unluckily denied by Japans goalkeeper which left Lars with the rebound which he sent wide of the post (not to anyone’s surprise really). Laurie kept his head high though and after a deflected goal kick by Japan and a great run by Laurie it was 1-0 Raiders and we weren’t going to give it up easily. A couple of minutes later it was 2-0 Raiders after a great touch by Romain, who is proving to become quite a goal getter for the Raiders, second goal in the second game if I am not mistaken. Raiders kept composure and denied Japan a goal and took the game home 2-0 which also meant some much needed 3 points and perhaps the beginning of a streak that could see us winning the SIFL (it’s not over until its over).

Man of the match, arguably Miquel after the self proclaimed “soft little princess” (no yellows in January yet) stole the ball of no.11 of Japan and “set up” the 2-0, few raised eyebrows but we’ll let it slide. In all seriousness anyone on the team deserved to be the Man of the Match yesterday because the win was a great team effort and communication and supportive running was some of the best seen.

Other honorably mentions include: Rolf’s headgear fashion statement, Luke’s Hangover + first time waking up before 1pm since god knows when, Ryan’s sunburn, and the quail/turkey that acted as a good luck charm and perhaps should be bought by the Raiders to take to future matches.

Lars G