Pre-Season 2018. Phetchaburi Rajabhat University 0:1 Hua Hin City FC

This was Hua Hin City’s 2nd Friendly Match in 2 days. We had travelled to Phetchaburi high on the back of the previous day’s 13-1 victory against Hua Hin Vikings. Expectations were high. Sat in the pavilion before the match, We were looking at our opponents as a bunch of college kids, and wondering if we would achieve double figures. Coach Sebastien told us that he would be trying different tactics today, and he could see, just by looking at the opposition, it was going to be a hard game. What he didn't tell us was some of these players had been playing t2 football last season. So the board was set for an interesting encounter. After the previous day’s fast flowing, quick passing, attacking football we were in for a surprise. The Rajabhat guys knew what they were doing. They packed their defence, which made it very difficult for Nicolas and Maraba to make an impact. However, having class forwards in the side was always likely to pay dividends, and Nicolas scored his 6 th goal in 2 games with a brilliantly placed shot just before half-time to give Hua Hin the lead. The Rajabaht plan was working exceptionally well, and it wasn't just Hua Hin’s forwards who were being frustrated, Rajabaht were causing problems all over the pitch. Even defenders were struggling to move the ball forward meaningfully. Their only downfall was they didn't have a forward to capitalise on their limited counter attack opportunities. Our first impression of ‘a bunch of college kids’ couldn't have been further from the truth. These guys were very credible opponents for only our second competitive match, and they did themselves proud. The good news is that we won. We mustn’t forget though, friendly results don’t really matter, and a win is just the cherry on the top. Coach Sebastien has a very hard job to do, and he needs to experiment with different systems against strange opposition. It was a bonus finding a team as skilled as Rajabaht. I’m sure he learnt a lot about his players in this match, and he can apply fixes where they are needed. It is better to work out the flaws in Friendly Matches, than wait for the serious competition. We need to hit the ground running from day 1 when the season starts.

#Friendly #Match #Preseason #2018