Match report – Raiders v Vikings

After what seems like an eternity, the Saigon Raiders were finally back on the pitch to contest a league game. This Sunday was a special one as it saw the club’s two teams come face-to-face, coinciding with the final game for a Raiders legend…

Who let the Raiders out…Hung…Hung…Hung…Hung

Who let the Raiders out…Hung…Hung…Hung…Hung

Aside from the obvious importance of 3 points, celebrating what Hung has brought to the club as a player, and as a person was great reason to be excited about this match.

Another legend of the club, Guido, took the responsibility to go in goal due to Mirko’s absence which showed his great commitment to the team. His performance later gained him many nods for the MoM award.

Hung…Hung…Hung…Hung

Colin’s pre-game team talk centred around the need to take the game to the Vikings who proved worthy opponents in the first meeting. Both teams were up for it and soaked up the 38-degree sunshine as the coach laid out Plan A, Plan B and then, Plan C. At the end, Stephan wasn’t even sure if he was playing any longer. The coach explained the Vikings would want to get into the heads of Hoggy (obviously), Foxy (without doubt) and Mike Owen (goes without saying) to which everyone agreed…except Mike Owen…

’Meeh! Why? I’ve nee dun nuting this year, aye!’

Sure, Mike…sure.

The starting 11 were confident, Jimmy wanted the boys to get pumped and Scott arrived with a can of Tiger. The bench, a strong one at that, were vocal on the sidelines.

The game started at a good tempo and the Raiders started to move the ball within the Plan A formation (Stephan was playing). Flo, Steph, Jimmy and Hung…Hung…Hung…Hung looked comfortable on the ball although the front line of the Vikings were hustling. Foxy and Sven were trying to get the game going through a tight midfield and Mike Owen was acting as the playmaker through the gaps up to Hoggy and Clemens who were making good runs down the lines whilst Fola was trying to stay high and wide as instructed.

Clem took a big knock from behind from Adam…cheeky, and Nayan was up to his old tricks, kicking lumps out of Hoggy. There was a big call for an early penalty after it seemed Jeremiah had caught Hoggy on the turn. Nothing given. Fola got a little frustrated when losing possession and received an early yellow for his tackle. The Raiders seemed to be getting generally frustrated and during the first 20-minute water break, subs were lined up. After 5 minutes, Emmanuel and Olly were introduced to give a different look to the midfield. The coach promised a number of consistent changes to keep it fresh.

After 30 odd minutes, a great break down the left saw Mike in space who picked out a peach of a ball for Hoggy who banged it home with a sweet header. 1-0.

Half time – regroup and reflect on a better 2nd 20-minute period.

Vinny and Sipho were introduced into action in the 2nd, followed later by Martin who got himself into some good positions, winning important free-kicks. The Raiders had created a number of chances although they couldn’t quite find the finishing touch. A long ball from Olly to Hoggy saw him attack a one v one with Arjen, Hoggy took a clattering but seemed to get the vital touch. After some confusion, it turned out there was an offside call (debatable).

Hung and Vinny were building well from full-back positions creating good opportunities for crossing. This pressure led to a great team goal for the 2nd. The ball found its way out to Clem who produced a quality cross onto the head of the (speedy) midfielder, Olly, who used the pace of the ball to place it past Arjen (mention to the GK who had played excellently) to score (an unusual occurrence) and make it 2-0.

Credit to the dogged Vikings, they did not give up and Tippy alongside Magnus kept trying to find the channels. The midfield was a well-contested battle, every ball fought for. In one such case, the ball was chased down by Sipho and the ball ended up at Aron’s feet, Olly decided to press hard, Aron took one loose touch, Olly thought he was gonna nip in and steal it, Aron had other ideas…NUTS! 1-0 Aron.

This unfortunate event (for Olly) won him the Turkey for the Raiders and led to this in-depth, quality analysis. It also showed a side of Adam (mouthy t**t) that shocked Olly. Adam was so desperate to nominate Olly, he began rocking back and forth on his chair, foaming at the mouth and repeatedly screaming ‘Turkey for Olly…Olly…Turkey…Nuts Aron…Olly…Turkey…’ And this was to the poor bar girl who just wanted to take his order (turns out you can get pints of water brought to the table @Jimmy and @Sven). Thankfully for Adam, and Hoggy (who seemed equally happy for Olly to receive this vote) the nomination stood. This seemed even more remarkable as it was voted for over the quite unbelievable actions of Fola who decided to get stroppy and change out of his kit at half-time after being subbed. Unbelievable bantz. Club fine surely!?!

Anyway…not bitter. The game finished 2-0! Clem can finally sleep.

A number of deserved mentions for MoM including Olly, Guido and Stephan but on such a day, it was really only ever going to one man.

Who let the Raiders out…Hung…Hung…Hung…Hung

Who let the Raiders out…Hung…Hung…Hung…Hung

Overall, a good, competitive game and the Vikings bounced back from their previous game against the S***ts to really push the Raiders. They will surely build on that performance. The Raiders showed a gritty side that will be needed for the last 4 league games.

Farewell and blessings to our man Hung and the lovely Barbara. Once a Raider always a Raider!

Olly