Sunday 28th April 2024 - 16:00pm Thailand / 09:00am GMT - TSP
Futera kicked off backed by a large away following who created a carnival atmosphere on a blistering hot afternoon with temperatures touching 40 degrees celsius. With Jew filling in at centre back for the injured Tewit Futera made a bright start dominating possession and inside the first five minutes Phu escaped down the right flank and his cross eluded Golf and Sin by inches. Minutes later after excellent build up play Sin cut inside from the left flank and his deflected shot cannoned off the post.
Look E San slowly got a foothold in the game and after a period of pressure carved out their first clear cut chance but Film produced an excellent save to push the ball around for a corner. From the resulting corner Futera failed to clear their lines and from the ensuing scramble the ball was scrambled home by the Look E San striker to give the home team a a 1-0 lead. Futera stormed back and should have been level when Phu calmly fired home only for the referee to disallow the strike for offside. Replays clearly showed Phu was onside the first half finished with a somewhat aggrieved Futera, who had been the better side trailing 1-0.
The second began much like the first half with Futera pressing looking for an equaliser. Credit to both teams that despite the stifling conditions there was no let up in intensity from both teams as the game threatened to boil over with some fierce challenges going in. A mazy run from Phu saw him cut in from the left flank ghosting past two defenders before being unceremoniously hacked down for a stonewall penalty. Unbelievably the referee waved play on and minutes later compounded Futera’s anger when a long ball over the top caught out Jew allowing the Look E San winger to escape down the right and his low cross was tapped home by the home side striker who gleefully celebrated in front of the enraged Futera supporters. Look E San effectively sealed the win less than five minutes later when a carbon copy of the second goal allowed them to make the score 3-0.
Any hopes Futera had of achieving an unlikely comeback were dashed when the outstanding Khun was sent off for a second bookable office leaving the away side to play out the final ten minutes with then men. Credit to Futera as they kept going until the final whistle but the season ended when the referee blew the whistle on a disappointing 3-0 defeat.
A somewhat mixed debut season in the Thailand Semi Pro League saw a season of incredible highs and lows. This is definitely where we need to be playing, a huge step up in the quality of teams and stadiums, although we are still the victims of dubious refereeing decisions. It is obvious we need to strengthen in a number of areas, we are still desperately in search of a striker, a solid left back and another centre back. I thought there were some exceptional performances from a number of players, Beem came of age, Bew was consistent as usual, Taku brought energy and dynamism to our midfield, Bas forced his way into the starting line up and Khun defied his age to be probably our player of the season. We start preparing for next season now, number one priority finding players that are going to add to the first eleven not just squad players. We will have to release a number of players who clearly were not up to the standard of the TSP bit we have plenty to be positive about. A thoroughly enjoyable season has made us more determined to get it right for next season. Special mention to the gaffer, Mark who devotes so much time and energy to the Futera cause as does Dew and his production team who give up their saturdays and sundays. An ultimately disappointing end to the season but plenty to look forward to and we will have a real good go next season. Futera Su SU.