FT: 7:0 ; (5:0)

It was about time for the league to continue after the well deserved Tet break. The Saigon Raiders entered the Tet holidays with 7 wins out of 7 matches in the SIFL, 36 goals scored (best attack of the league) and only 8 goals conceded, which also makes the Raiders defence the SIFL´s best.

Holidays are over now and the league is back on track. All players recovered well and with not a single player being injured, the coach could select from the widest possible range.

It´s been a very sunny Sunday with good air quality, however the hottest day of 2018 so far with kick-off at 2 pm.
The Raiders started with their classy 3-5-2 with Mirko in goal. Dutch newcomer Guido enjoyed his league debut on the right back with Danny Vo on the left and Andy as centre back pulling the strings in this defence. Midfield started with powerful Danny on the left, Rich and Scott in the centre and Vincent on the right. Clemens on the 10 completed the Raiders´ midfield. Mike Owen and Hoggy started upfront and completed the starting 11.

FileString started somewhat nervous, as the Raiders´ pressure was high from the second the ref blowed the whistle for the first time. That starting pressure led to the first corner after just seconds played. The ball flew in the box – and there we go: The centre back of FileString couldn´t help himself but using his hand to defend that strong corner brought in by the Raiders´ number 10, Clemens. Clear penalty and the FileString centre-back should have continued his Sunday morning volleyball match instead of joining the football. Hoggy took the penalty with a lot of self confidence, started to run towards the ball the same way as his fellow countryman D. Beckham couldn´t have done better, hit it with full power, the ball flew high the same way as the one from D. B., however not as high, but in the net! 1:0 for the Raiders after just 1 minute. What a start into the Year of the Dog!

After that, the Raiders did what they do best and forced FileString to stay low, launching many attacks over the sides with clear passes from the back to the wings. Raiders dominated every situation, FileString barely touched the ball. No surprise that only 18 minutes later, Raiders scored the second one after a deadly pass from Scott to Mike upfront who finished in a classy manner.

Clemens scored the third one just 6 minutes later after a beautiful assist by Hoggy and another two minutes later, Vincent made it 4:0. The 4:0 was assisted by Wouter, who came on the pitch shortly before that. An Australian fitness boot camp during Tet clearly led to the fact that Wouter played one of his best games for the Raiders so far, with presence all over the pitch, many runs and almost 100 % successfully completed passes. The Raiders´ midfield engine Rich scored just before half time and made it 5:0 for HT. What a first half. Not a single shot on target and therefore nothing to do for our goalkeeper Mirko. Raiderettes Andy & Scott secured the centre and didn´t let any FileString players pass on their way to Mirko, who couldn´t do anything but saying Grazie to the two in love.

Second half started with some changes. Gary came on for Rich, Dan B for Danny H, Peter for Guido as right back and Nayan for Danny Vo. Just minutes later, Pat replaced the strong-as-ever Clem as 10, pulling the strings in the midfield. And how he did it! Two assists by Red-Eye-Pat in just 10 minutes made it 7:0 for the Raiders. Gary and Wouter were the lucky ones to receive Pat´s brilliant passes and to score the sixth and seventh goal. Raiders kept dominating in the heat, despite the fact that FileString, as 100 % Vietnamese team, should be more used to this climate.

In the end, it was 7 goals on the Raiders side and none for FileString. Great league debut for Dutch right back Guido, who worked relentlessly with many runs on the right and good tackles. Wouter was selected Man of the Match and Vincent received the Turkey of the Match award for a „dive“ on the left side after a CLEAR foul. With four Dutch players on the pitch, the influence became too strong and the only German player got overwhelmed by this influence in a weak moment, copying one of Arjen Robben´s trademark features: The flying Dutchman. Every Dutch player on the pitch loved it, however it was, as always, the Brits coming up with this „far fetched“ Turkey idea…

Now it´s 8 wins out of 8 matches and 5 points ahead of the second, Nam An, with 2 matches less than Nam An. Good position to proceed with, but no reason to lose focus. RAIDERS!