October 3, 2017

The sun was shining and the heat rising as The Bulldogs arrived at Shrewsbury early on Saturday for the under 9s tournament. The team were in good spirits and were excited to test themselves against some of the best footballers that Bangkok has to offer.

Our first game saw us take on the home team, Shrewsbury. We fell behind to an early goal as the boys took a few minutes to acclimatise to competitive match conditions. We were more than a match for the home team and a fantastic long-range free kick from Year 4’s Poom drew us level. Sadly, despite our best efforts Shrewsbury scored again in the closing minutes. A great first effort from the Bulldogs.

The second game saw us up against a very competitive Harrow, with one star player. The final result was a 2-0 defeat, but our boys did a fantastic job and if it wasn’t for a couple of moments of individual brilliance from Harrow’s key player the result would have been very different.

Up next was Pattana. This match was by far our best performance of the day, with the boys playing brilliantly as a team, moving and passing with increased confidence. Year 4’s Jayden put in a great performance in goal which spurred the whole team on. Unfortunately, despite the great effort we fell to another 2-0 defeat.

Our final game saw us compete against the eventual U9 champions, St. Andrews 71. There were many tired legs on the pitch as St. Andrews pushed to secure the championship. Some resolute defending kept the score line to a respectable 3-0.

We may not have won any games, but the boys did themselves proud and did not let their heads drop. With more time on the training pitch this team has a very bright future. I am sure the Bulldogs will secure their first U9 victory very soon.