The BMHHFA Under 10 and Under 12 team were in action at yesterday’s Inspire Cup. With the first match kicking off just after 9am and the final match finishing at 3pm it was a long day but the boys and girls all enjoyed themselves and played some good football.
With the HHIS term having ended the Under 10 team were short of players so we borrowed a couple from our friends at Hua Hin City. The team was well beaten in its opening game, losing 3-0 to very strong Raimai A Team.
The next match was a nail biter with BMHHFA running out 1-0 winners against Raimai B. The penultimate game was against local rivals 2 Touch and Nick, Caspian and Alex all made vital tackles and interceptions to secure a second clean sheet in succession and a 2-0 win.
The final match for the Under 10s saw them face eventual group winners PK Soccer. Goalkeeper Gan put in an outstanding performance, making save after save and even tipping a penalty onto the post but couldn’t prevent the team from conceding three times to lose 3-0.
Two wins out of four was enough to secure a spot on the podium as the third place team in the Under 10 group. It was a great day and several of the players enjoyed themselves so much that they still turned up for training at 4pm!
The Under 12 team was close to full strength and played some lovely football with Bobby thriving in the centre midfield role. He has been playing on the wing for our Under 14 team but is still only 11 years old and was able to really impose himself on the matches.
The team went 2-0 down to PK Soccer but came back strongly with Bobby pulling a goal back. Despite creating numerous chances, a theme which would recur throughout the tournament, the boys and girls couldn’t quite find an equalizer and ended up losing 2-1.
The second match started badly with Raimai surging into a 3-0 lead. But again the team came back strongly with Alyssa, Bobby and Julian linking up well and producing some fast, flowing counter attacks.
Two goals from Bobby and a screamer from Sam reduced the deficit to 4-3 and the team were pushing forwards in search of an equalizer when Raimai scored with virtually the last kick of the game to make it 5-3.
The final match was a local derby against 2 Touch and again the boys and girls played some superb football. Freem, Bobby and Julian were breaking at speed and slicing the defence apart but despite creating multiple clear cut opportunities the players simply could not score.
They paid for the misses when our defenders failed to deal with routine long balls allowing 2 Touch to score twice from close range. Freem spurned a couple of presentable opportunities before Alyssa swept the ball home following another quick counter attack.
With a strong defender who was very comfortable on the ball and a big goalkeeper who made several saves 2 Touch were extremely solid at the back and two moments of real quality from players further forwards saw them extend the lead to 4-1 with unstoppable long range shots.
There was still time for Bobby to fire narrowly wide from very close range after good work from Alyssa on the left but a three goal cushion was always going to be enough. This was the first time the BMHHFA Under 12 team had ever played together and the level of football on display was very impressive, even if the results didn’t go our way.