BattlE Of BangkOk

Justin Jempson, Cross Campus Assistant Head Football Coach

OnTuesday 7th February, our Varsity Boys’ and Girls’ Football teams competed in the “Battle of Bangkok” fixture against NIST. The game was played at the Thunderdome stadium, home of Thai Premier League outfit Muangthong United. It was an experience which I’m sure will live in our students’ memories for a lifetime.

The evening began with coaches Brandon, Justin and Rich meeting our excited students at school and travelling by bus to the stadium. After a (relatively) traffic free journey, we arrived at the Thunderdome. It was amazing to see so many parents from Bangkok Patana and NIST in attendance! After a quick snack provided by Muangthong, the players dropped their belongings in the home dressing room and familiarised themselves with their surroundings by walking down the tunnel and onto the pitch. Teams then gathered for a quick team talk and thorough warm-up with Brandon and Justin.

Both the Girls’ and Boys’ teams played two 30-minute periods with the Boys’ first half occurring immediately after the Girls’ first half and scores from both matches being aggregated to decide the winner.

The Girls started quickly and aggressively with Mya confidently leading the back four and reading the game exceptionally well. Bangkok Patana’s dominance was rewarded 10 minutes from half time when Jazzie expertly won and converted a penalty. She followed this up with a sweetly struck half-volley into the bottom corner to send Bangkok Patana into a 2-0 half-time lead.

The Boys then took to the field and started equally fast, making it 3-0 within minutes! The NIST keeper parried a free kick into Seb’s path for a simple tap-in. Seb’s work-rate, aggression and physicality up front were causing NIST problems, as were Att’s well-timed runs beyond their defence. Unfortunately, we were not so effective defensively and NIST managed not one, but three goals before half-time, sending the Boys to the changing room slightly disappointed and the score level at 3-3.

The Girls made it 4-3 when Amelia sent a cracking free kick into the top left corner, a just reward for her perseverance, grit and determination. Sumin and Aya were excellent in midfield, striking up a solid partnership and Lara (making her first appearance for the Varsity team) fitted in perfectly with some accurate passes into midfield.

The Boys returned to the field and looked more solid defensively, catching NIST offside several times. However, they gave away a free-kick with minutes to go, which led to a goal. Aaku was introduced to proceedings and performed admirably, winning the ball back several times and rarely giving it away.

With the scores 4-4 at full-time the game went to a nail-biting penalty shoot-out which NIST unfortunately won. Nevertheless, it was an incredibly fun, exciting and tension-packed evening which our parents and students thoroughly enjoyed.