BANGKOK TOUR 2010

 

Friday 3 Dec 2010

The team was pretty split up with people flying in from various parts of the world.  A moment’s silence was observed before Ken boarded in Bali, for it was the first ISCI tour to Bangkok that Chris Wren has missed in about 12 years.  Mind you the ‘moment’ appears to have resulted in Ken being called to ‘get on the plane!’, and he was last to board (again).

Scotty, RJ and Ryan were on the same flight but for some reason did not link up for pre-tour drinks.

There were a few pre-tour jitters about using the Nana Hotel, by reputation and location a ‘sleazy place’.  But the rooms were large, beds huge and it seemed good value for money, when our previously booked hotel bumped us for a bigger group.

As is the norm for the Kings B’day weekend there is early closing and some bars serve no alcohol.  But there is always somewhere open so it’s just a matter of perseverance.

 

Otong and Ken attended the Captains meeting at Soi Polo (RBSC) and met the organizers, paid respects, drank free beer, got the schedule, drank free beer, and left with the HK Police when the technical meeting started.  Soi Kowboi was our first port of call and that’s where we stayed until the lights suddenly came on at 1am and they kicked us out.

 

Saturday 4 Dec 2010

A 10am kickoff meant a leisurely team breakfast at the Nana Hotel.  The jade green strip with the new material that Deny wanted to try was passed around and everyone agreed it had a good feel (indeed it performed very well and we might invest in ‘ISCI on Tour 2011’ shirts in this material).  ISCI had been extremely well treated by the RBSC organizers with late starts and all games on Pitch 1 (best grass).

 

Game 1  v  RBSC  3-0  (Kuhan, Mitch, RJ)

ISCI had pulled up pretty well after the night before and borrowing Marcel (in the absence of Dave, the Welsh National sheep herder, and keeper of the goals) meant that we had just the 11 players (although Fargus wisely asked a young HKFC chap to sub for him after 10 minutes).  Unfortunately Animal could not participate as all of the HK Police games clashed with ISCI’s schedule.

 

The RBSC team were the “Classics” (marginally older and slower than ISCI) and we were quickly on top.  First touch of the day saw Rob Oates drag the ball from left to right and waltz around a midfielder to set up a pass to Scotty down the right wing – vintage stuff, lost nothing.  The oppo gave Kuhan about 2 minutes to tee one up and he smashed the ball in from the top right of the D.  Mitch started the day as he meant to go on – several near misses but goals were scored, after a cross from Scotty found its mark.  RJ bravely stepped forward to a pass from Ken and swatted in the goal on the left post but took the full force of the keepers stick on his nose.  Blood flowed.  Fortunately he had thrown in a set of ‘nostril expanders’ and managed to breathe through the rest of the day.

 

Game 2  v  Navy  0-1

The Navy guys were younger and fitter and put a lot of pressure on Otong, Vic, Ryan and Fargus, but we did break forward and still gave them lots of problems and created chances with Vic and Otong repelling their attacks and Kuhan, RJ and Rob O running through the middle to set up Scotty and Mitch.  Unfortunately Mitch’s sights were not quite set and 2 great chances missed by inches.  The opposition didn’t look like scoring until a defensive mess saw them flick one in with only 30 seconds left on the clock. Possibly the right result.

 

Game  3  v  ChiangMai  4-0  (Mitch 2, Kuhan, RJ)

Lunch and beer under our belts the Chiang Mai juniors were in for a belting.  With Ryan, Kuhan, Ken and Rob O commanding midfield, the ball was pushed forward and many chances created.  Kuhan dribbled through about 9 of their players before the last defender managed to hack his stick.  He calmly slotted the penalty.  Mitch scored two, but missed a couple of other chances, and indeed the ones that went in were executed with all the aplomb of a 6 year old school girl.  As was the half-well-hit goal by RJ from the top of the D.

 

A huge fine for Dave Kettle who didn’t turn up at all for this day, more especially because Ken and Vic rejected offers from several people who wanted to keep for ISCI because “we have a good keeper thank you”.

 

Some of us headed for a well earned massage before food.  Dinner in Soi 11, sans alcohol, was a minor speed bump in the alcoholic activity and we went on to consume copious quantities in Soi Kowboi.

 

Sunday 5 Dec 2010

It had been a late night, and not everyone turned up well.  RJ seemed to be struggling and needed Ryan’s help to exit his hotel room.

A team breakfast of fried eggs, baked beans and toast was just what our nutritionist scripted and we were off to the races again (9.20am start), albeit with Ryan and RJ promising to “catch us up”.

 

Game 4  v  Khonkaen Uni  1-1  (Mitch)

As was probably predictable from the earlier description, we started a couple of players short (not Dave Kettle this time, although he wouldn’t wear the pads) but Ryan and RJ were on the field just after the start.  We were a little lost and under some pressure, but still managed to create chances.  Two short corners ended in tears until a long ball from Scotty down the right was missed by the defender and Mitch pounced on the loose ball to score.  The oppo stepped up the pace but we looked like keeping them out until a keeping error (through the legs) let a pretty lame shot in, just 30 seconds before the end.  The one that got away.

 

Game 5  v  Chula  4-1  (Mitch 4)

Scotty caught some Z’s during the break, and Planet RJ was still behind the moon.  The first few minutes of this game saw them still talking positions and tactics in the middle of the field while the rest of us ran around them.  Thankfully we were against schoolboys and completely dominated (except for the 15 times Scotty played at and missed the ball and threw his stick).  Mitch scored all the goals, including one outrageous short corner where Ken pushed out to Kuhan, who stopped the ball and pushed into the D to RJ, who passed back to the slowly advancing Kuhan, who passed back to the more slowly advancing RJ, who passed across to Mitch near the right post, who slapped at the ball and followed up the keeper’s save to score around the keepers flailing legs.  A comedy.  Whilst he scored 4, Mitch also had misses, simple ones, maybe 3, including a tap in not executed.

 

Drinks were taken and food ingested.  Talk of tactics, equations, goal difference, finals, trophies – this was all on the tables around us, as ISCI wallowed in drivel, crap, pocket-pissing and historical gossip.

 

Game 6  v  IPE Angthong  2-1  (Vic, Mitch)

Having carefully calculated that we were one game away from playing, Ken slipped off to the ablutions, only to find 10 minutes later that ISCI were waging battle on Pitch 1.  Vic ran off the bench, straight into the D, scored the goal and ran straight off claiming all that running meant he had to have a pee.  For reasons that are best known to the inhabitants of Planet RJ, he was in red, the rest of us in our jade green ISCI shirts. It was best not to ask.  Unfortunately the oppo managed to slot a goal in our positional confusion, but with a bit of running, and a bit of ‘Mitch Magic’ the natural harmony of the universe (excluding Planet RJ) was restored.

 

More drinks were taken and we watched a few penalty shoot outs before Ryan, Mitch and Lynn had to head to the airport.  Mitch had scored 9 goals in 6 games, pretty much the aggregated from his last 4 visits to Bangkok.  The Goal Scoring Machine is Back ! 

 

We hurried off to prepare for the ‘reggae’ themed after party.  Ade (Kilner) had purchased a reggae/rasta hat (with dread-locks hanging), and in his Bob Marley t-shirt, RJ was actually the ONLY person at the event that was in anything like ‘reggae’ (a good effort !).  But, as usual, ISCI was there, with bells on, large as life, drinking with everyone and managed to scoop the pool at the raffle prizes (what sort of a ‘raffle’ hands out free tickets every time you buy a beer, then hand out prizes for no additional contribution ?).  ISCI picked up umbrella’s, a hockey stick, red wine, Scotch, t-shirts,…. and some other things that Otong probably sold next day in the local market.

 

Another visit to Soi Kowboi resulted in different degrees of memory loss for each of the participants and details are still being collated.

 

Monday 6 Dec 2010

Otong departed early to run the Pataya Hash Run – madness after 2 days of hockey (and he played a couple of games for HKFC too !).  After checking that we didn’t want to in any way, shape or form watch the cricket !, Scotty and Ken jumped on the MRT and hired a tailboat for a few hours.  This cultural, if sometimes a little smelly, tour resulted in visits to temples and markets, touring the river and its canals on what was a holiday for the King’s birthday. But a couple of beers purchased in the middle of a canal from a lady paddling a canoe put us back on an even keel.  RJ slept, shopped, ate.

 

Then a visit to the Beer Garden to renew ISCI’s acquaintance with what is an institution of the Bangkok scene.  Ken met Flem (Valley) for dinner, the others having different things to do, then we met up in Soi Kowboi for more cultural and social interchange.  Ken was lost in the ‘desert’ for a while but eventually we all caught up.  A mini pool competition erupted with Ken kicking RJ’s pool-league butt (alcohol may have been involved) and a trip to a ‘nightclub’ was arranged.  This ended at about dawn for some of us, but a good night was had by all.

 

Tuesday 7 Dec 2010

Scotty woke people up to say goodbye at about 11am, so Ken and RJ sought food in the safe surrounds of the Beer Garden, happy in the knowledge that only minor amounts of oleh-oleh shopping were necessary.  After contributing conspicuously to the Thai tourist economy we headed for the airport.

 

For all the reservations, the Nana Hotel performed an outstanding service, is right in the middle of the action and very close to the hockey pitch.  The sad thing is we stayed there to be close to Nana Plaza (a place we normally frequent) and we didn’t go there at all !

 

Team: Ryan Gnesin, Scott Beckwith, Ken Allan, Otong, RJ Kilner (Jkt), Dave Fargus (HK), Dave Kettle, Vic, Kuhan (KL), Andrew Mitchell, Tour Tart Lynn Mitchell (Sing), Rob Oates, Marcel (keeper) (Bkk).

 

Thanks to all who came along, played and participated in the ISCI Bangkok Tour 2010.