The game:
Saigon Raiders took on Random FC again in another heavily contested honour battle. Coach Cregg, new to the position, saw his chance clear to implement all changes that he had been contemplating for a full season, but held back on as an elevator fart due to the hierarchy and respect coach Pat instilled. Craig figured it’s easier and safer to give him a piece of his wonky football mind in his absence: 2 attacking midfielders and full on forward pressing it is! And to put it in the words of Mother Mary after Joseph spit on it: ‘it helped’

Raiders suffocated the opposition and came 1-0 up via an early Miguel penalty, after someone got harshly handled in the box by someone (details escape me here). The rest of the game saw a familiar vietnamese tactic from Random FC, who played an unreasonably high line in defence, with stellar performances reserved for the linesmen. Through balls were flagged on autopilot, so the only tactics that worked were patient square balls and runners. And behold… on one of the occasions Sipho slipped through and got assaulted knee high by the loco goalie. A challenge that could end ones career but not Sipho’s, who rounded the culprit anyway and deposited the 2-0 in the empty box. An early cherry on what would be a worthy MoM performance on the 6! In what must have been a countrywide first, the goalie even received a yellow card afterwards, and had to stumble off because he injured himself in his own action. Applaus for the ref! Random FC scored against in what I vaguely remember was a through ball where I’d like to guess it was Vincents fault because he got done more by the pacy left winger than Harry Kane flunks freekicks. He should have gotten his first Turkey of the match, were it not that there were some other contenders. And since we tend to be friendly to newish faces in the Raiders family, he was let off the hook.

The second half saw the fastest goal in Raiders history, when Tam nicked the ball after Random FC kicked off and slotted home after 4.5 seconds.
Within 5 minutes the score was 4-1 after another Tam goal. He could have completed the hattrick on a few occasions after. Was it the pitch, was it the goalie… no one knows. Raiders missed about 8 open chances in the game, picture how many that would have been if Hoggy had played? Special mentions go to Edwin, who managed to dribble a defender in slow motion ‘did him with the hips’, and missed his maiden goal in a one on one because he got too nervous. Same for Joe Eastwood (stellar debut) on flunking a 1 metre header at the second post. Special mentions also go to myself for failing ridiculously to chip the goalie on 2 similar 1v1 occasions, and missing a wide open goal sitter from 3 metres out, hence Turkey of the match.

All in all, it was a great and positive game that saw some new concepts work out to the level of expectations: High pressing is definitely the way to go against these light footed Vietnamese teams.
It just feels so much better to not let them dominate the game and counter, because at least we are putting in a shift while we are playing. We might have to work on our stamina, so next time we can continue pressuring longer than 11 minutes, but let’s not forget it’s the tropics… Also, we will need to tidy up the back, Italian style, but with good communication this will come automatically.

Oh yes, on a side note…

• Jordi Nam agreed he will donate his first Salary at FC Barcelona to the Raiders fund. Wait, also his first salary after signing a new and improved contract when he is 28 and about to cash out. And also he promised us to fly us in for a game once per year and to let us borrow his Jet when we want to go to international tournaments. There was a pinky promise, so no turning back. Good luck with the tryouts little fella. Say hi to Messi if you see him. Papa Miquel, let us know how he fares.
• On another side note… Random FC scored another 4 goals and we lost 5-4.