Goal Academy Malaysia 2015

GREAT WEEKEND IN THAILAND

Bangkok International Super Cup 2015
Saturday 6th June & Sunday 7th June 2015

Last weekend saw the GOAL Elite U12s and U16s travel to Thailand to compete in the Bangkok International Super Cup 2015, hosted by iPlay Soccer Schools. With participants from Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Phillipines, Singapore and Hongkong it was set to be a truly international tournament and another great learning experience for the GA boys.

Saturday saw all the teams in action at Harrow International School as the tournament’s group stages got under way. Sadly, it was not the perfect start that Coach Oleg’s U16s had dreamt about as they had to settle for a disappointing 1-1 draw (Iman Alwani) in the first match against Arsenal Thailand.

The GA boys came into the next match with much more determination, beating Westfields International School 2-0 thanks to a great goal from Shakimi, with Christian sealing a comfortable victory. GA carried this momentum to the third match as they beat FFV Hotshots 2-1 (Dilshan, Matthew).

A much-fancied Bangkok Utd were up next but, in high spirits, GA edged the opposition in a 2-1 thriller (Sora, Azri) and GA produced another great display of football against CUKI, with Dilshan netting a superb hat-trick to win 3-0.

This set up an exciting match between the two Malaysian teams in the tournament, GA and FC Kuala Lumpur (aka Little League). The GOAL Elite U16s were in a mean mood though, registering another 3-0 win with Dilshan bagging a brace before Iman hammered home his second of the day.

In the final game against iPlay Soccer School, both teams played well in a 2-2 draw, with Capt Matt sealing the equalizer with a fantastic free-kick at the final whistle, Dilshan having earlier adding to his total for the tournament. Still, a draw was more than enough for them to finish the group stages unbeaten and top of the group!

Coach Matthew’s young U12s were forced to wait until after lunch for their first match, having been given a 2-0 walkover in the first match against Victory Payakumbuh. Nevertheless, when it came time for action the boys did not disappoint winning 2-0 against fellow youngsters, Bangkok United U11s. Hanz struck with great long-range effort before Dudley doubled lead with another fine finish.

In the third match, substitute Temma was the hero against BFA A. The ‘Brazilians’ had defended well but could not keep out the Japanese warrior as his goal clinched a well-deserved 1-0 win. Their final match against Arsenal Thailand, was always going to be tough but the U12s took the game to the oppo early. Nevertheless, Arsenal slowly started to get a foothold in the game and edged a winner late. Despite the 1-0 loss, the GA boys were in high spirits finishing second in the group with 9 points and qualifying for the Cup competition like their older counterparts.

The GA U12s went into the second day with lots of enthusiasm but sadly could not find the form that had seen them outperform expectations on Day One. Temma was once again on target but it was not enough for GA who lost 1-2 to a talented Hong Kong Dragons team in the quarter-finals.

Next up, a place decider against Dynamo iPlay. GA U12s dominated the match but could not break the deadlock and in the Golden Goal play-off lost 1-0. So it was to the final match of the tournament, a grudge match against Little League Malaysia. GA, led admirably by their captain Dudley, were on the offensive from the very start. Despite an obvious size disadvantage, the GOAL Elite boys dominated the match but were happy to settle for 1-0 victory and 7th place out of 20 teams, thanks to another trademark ‘barnstormer’ from Hanz.

And so, it was over to the big pitch and the U16s who had really high hopes of winning the entire tournament. In the Semi-Finals, GA faced FFV Hotshots. After beating them 2-1 in the group stages, Coach Oleg’s team should have been confident. Unfortunately, the nerves had set in and the boys in black gave away a goal through an early penalty. After that, despite intense pressure from GA there was no way back, with GA slipping to a disappointing 1-0 defeat.

Down but not out, the U16s were determined to finish the tournament on a high. They did just that, claiming third place in the Bangkok Super Cup 2015 with a stunning 3-0 victory over the hosts, iPlay Soccer Schools, thanks to an own-goal and two goals from Dilshan who finished Tournament Top Scorer.

Coach Matthew reflected after a long hot weekend, “I have been incredibly impressed by everyone in attendance this weekend. The U12s, who were predominantly U10s and U11s, did fantastic and surely can’t wait to come back here next year to go all the way. The U16s were just tremendous. Capt Matt led his team terrifically but the spirit and determination shown by boys just reflects how much hard work they’ve put in over the past couple of seasons – I think we’ll start to see these guys win tournaments very soon!!!”

Thanks you to all our players and families for their support under the hot sun in Bangkok. It was a very memorable weekend for GA and we can’t wait till the next one.