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All that glitters is not gold
Is the SEA Games at risk of losing its way?
Sports Commentary
The SEA games originated from the SEAP (South East Asian
Peninsular) Games, which were first inaugurated in Thailand in 1959. Laung
Sukhumnaipradit, the then Vice President of the Thailand Olympic Committee
conceptualized the idea of the games as a means to “promote cooperation,
understanding and friendly relations” among the countries in the region.
As the 23rd SEA Games drew to a close last Monday in Manila amidst
allegations of cheating, unsporting behaviour and diplomatic
‘mud-slinging’, one can only wonder what he would make of it all today.
Whilst last week’s games began amidst symbols of peace
and unity, with some 4,000 athletes from 11 countries taking part, it
didn’t take long for the ‘real’ fun and games to begin and the cynical
expression of modern day, professional sport to rear its ugly head.
Just two days into the action and there were already
rumblings in the high office of the Thai government that not all was well
with the officiating at some of the sporting events. This prompted the Thai
PM to suggest that the ‘the quest for gold’ had become the overriding
factor in hosting the games and that an unofficial summit should be called
among (Southeast Asian) leaders to discuss ways to “uplift the spirit and
standard of the games”.
Whilst the timing of the Thai PM’s comments could
certainly have been better, perhaps he should also be commended for
‘blowing the lid’ on what has for years been organized manipulation of
the games by the host country. How does a host country achieve this?
It’s quite simple really: Step 1) Include sports you
have a chance of winning: Step 2) Exclude the sports your main rivals are
good at: Step 3) Exclude the sports you haven’t the faintest idea about
and finally Step 4) Introduce sports that no one else in the region has ever
played.
With this winning formula in mind, Vietnam in 2003 held
events in shuttlecock kicking and fin swimming and whilst the Philippines
kicked them out this year, they themselves introduced such popular events as
dance sports, arnis(?) and hoop takraw. When Indonesia hosted the games in
1997, they topped the medal table. This pattern was repeated for Malaysia in
2001, Vietnam 2003 and now the Philippines this year. With the huge amounts
of money a host country invests in staging the games, it is understandable
in some respects that they don’t want to see the bulk of the gold medals
being won by visiting teams but where do you draw the line? Singapore is
provisionally being touted as the host nation for the 2011 SEA Games. It’s
not beyond the realms of possibility that we may see cyber games and speed
SMS being introduced as events by then.
Is there any way to put a stop to all this? Well, maybe
an independent SEA Games commission should be set up and given the authority
to decide what sports should or should not be included and also appoint
judges and officials of it’s own. This is after all, the third biggest
sporting event in the region after the Olympics and the Asia Games and
should be organized accordingly. Will this ever happen? One can only hope
so.
Back to the recently concluded games and Thai sports
officials had initially set a target of 110 - 118 gold medals. Whilst the
final figure of 87 fell somewhat short, it came as part of a total medal
haul of 283, which included some superb performances from the athletes.
Indeed, the saddest part about the controversy surrounding this year’s SEA
Games is that for the most part, the athletic performances were either
overlooked or were forever cast under a dark cloud of suspicion following
comments made about the officiating. There were however many moments of
magic produced by competitors of every nation and this is the legacy that
should and will hopefully be carried forward to the next SEA Games in 2007.
Where will those games be held? You guessed it... Thailand!
Dave Earthrowl again, Suwatana wins Ladies, but Ian Colville best
Mike Franklin
Scores in the combined November & December Diana
Seniors & Ladies Open at Pattaya Country Club on Thursday December 1
were surprisingly modest given fine weather conditions for the 57 strong
field.
 (L
to R) Dave Earthrowl, Suwatana Sawadi, Ian Colville.
Best of the day came from Ian Colville winning the
Seniors division with 39 Stableford points, with Geoff Bowers a worthy
runner-up with 37 points.
Next best scores came from the Ladies, Suwatana Sawadi
winning with 37 points and Toy Theobald runner-up with 36 points. Dave
Earthrowl must know something we don’t as his modest 35 points was good
enough to take the Super Seniors trophy and an even more modest 34 points
from Fred Theobald claimed second place.
Near pin prizes went to Intara Gorensson, Barry Rothberg,
Bob Short, and Danny Dyke on #5, #7, #12 & #16 respectively. Yao Gale
had the longest putt on #9 and Mike Wardman on #18.
Newcomers were duly acknowledged at the prize-giving,
namely Suthee Anderson, Stuart Lewis, Ove Karlsson, Jan Svensen, Maurice
Kelly, Mike Wardman, Tony Burdett, Gerd & Hans Jakobsen, Fred &
Yvonne Nyman, and Suwatana Sawadi.
The next Diana Seniors & Ladies Open will be on Thursday January 26th
2006, currently scheduled at Pattaya Country Club, although the December 1st
30% increase in green fees may necessitate a review.
Royal Lakeside,
a fine walk un-spoiled
PSC golf from The Caf้ Kronborg
Monday November 28
Plutaluang (Stableford)
The Royal Thai Navy’s East and West layout were host
for a stableford competition in two flights; A flight 0 to 15, and B flight
16 up. The course was in fine condition, and the start of the rebuilding of
the locker rooms will begin shortly and take 90 days to complete.
Aussie Kevin Callaghan took the A flight with an amazing
44 points, ahead of Fergus Brennan in second with 41 points and Kris
Helgasson third on a count back over Tony Scrambler, both 38 points.
Barry Kerr took the B flight with 38 points ahead of Dave
Richardson in second with 34 points and Bent Agerbo in third on countback
from Bob Richardson, both 33 points.
Thursday November 1
Royal Lakeside (Stroke)
This is a course that would be played much more often if
it were closer; that said we usually slip it into the schedule when we can
and ensure plenty of transport is available, as few take their cars. On this
day we had a good turnout, and despite busy roads the drive was quite
pleasant. This course is probably the best around to walk, with level or
flat fairways, all of which are well grassed. It is always a pleasure to
walk on thick springy grass and few courses can offer this. The fairways on
this day were as expected, the greens were very good and the only drawback
was a strong wind. What a fine walk, un-spoilt, if I may say so!
So on the day we were expecting some low scores, however
the course obviously had a bite to it as in fact no one broke net 70. The
winner of the A flight, 0 to 15, was Marty Allred with a net 70. I will
expand on this as to score a net 70 Marty had to shoot a gross 71, being off
1 handicap. It is pleasing to see the improvement in his game of late, and
maybe we will have a scratch golfer in the near future. In second was Fergus
Brennan with a net 71 on count back, ahead of Elias Magnussen in third and
John Gee, all with net 71.
In the B flight, 16 up, the winner was J.C Lhoste with a
net 70 ahead of Bent Moeller in second with a net 72 and Michael Winfield in
third with a net 74. Of course what goes out has to drive back, but not
before we spent some time in this fine clubhouse.
T.T.F.N.
Great value at Century Chonburi
PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s
Tuesday November 29 Century
Chonburi (Stableford).
I only have one thing to say, “Come back Tim, all is
forgiven”, and on this day it was the number one thought in my mind as I
arrived at Bert’s at 07:55 to book everyone in, to find Bob helping out
and the extras flooding in. It never fails to amaze me that when the
organizers can book nearly two months ahead and plan days in advance, the
players don’t know if they will be playing until the hangover kicks in.
Such is life.
Arriving at the fine Century Chonburi clubhouse and
seeing the 100 Baht green fee, I realised why the clubhouse was so fine, and
why so many golf connoisseurs had saved up and turned up: Next week Laem
Chabang. So onto the course, which actually is one of the better courses
when it is in its best condition, however on this day it was not. Still this
course is such good value I have no doubt it will be on the schedule next
month.
Back at Bert’s the food was ready: big hot dogs and
chips and a management decision was taken by me that the presentation could
wait till I finished, as I missed my ‘brekkers’. After all, free is
free!
Presentation time, and it was a pleasure to present to
the winners, Kris Helgasson in Div A, and Max Matthews in Div B. Of course
with my great experience all went well with no mistakes!
T.T.F.N.
Sports Quiz
Congratulations to Colin Wood for being the first to
correctly answer all three of last week’s questions. Thanks go out all
those who tried and better luck next time. In case you were wondering about
the answers, here they are:
1) Which was the first London club to win the League Cup?
Answer: Chelsea
2) Which was the last country to win the Five Nations rugby tournament?
Answer: Scotland
3) The horse Brigadier Gerard raced eighteen times. How many did he win?
Answer: 17
This weeks Questions are:
1) Who won the BBC Personality of the Year in 2003?
2) Which footbal club did Brian Clough first manage?
3) When was the last time that Great Britain won the Two Man Bobsleigh at
the Olympic Games?
Novel format proves to
be the winner at the
11th TAGGS Invitational
The 11th TAGGS invitational team golf tournament took
place at Eastern Star golf club and resort last Friday, 2 December. The
format this year was a novel change from previous events with 20 four-man
teams competing in a 4-ball, best 2 net scores per hole strokeplay match up.
Initially, certain high handicap golfers cast some doubts about this
particular format as they felt it would favour the better players. This fear
proved to be unfounded however, and in fact the highest handicapped group in
the entire field was that comprising of Dan Dorothy (Pattaya Mail Ed.),
yours truly, (Pattaya Mail Sports Ed.) and our two trusty cohorts, Clark
Alexander and Peter White. Setting off in the final grouping, we found
ourselves net 7 under par after only 5 holes. With visions of being tagged
as ‘bandits’ for the rest of our natural lives entering our collective
minds, we subconsciously eased off the gas and came in a creditable 5th at 9
under par. Well, that’s my excuse anyway; the three successive, horrendous
hook shots out of bounds on the 15th tee notwithstanding.
Three
of the winners (L-R) Jerry McCarthy, Joe McArdle and Peter Henshaw collect
their prizes from Stephen Beard (far right).
Elsewhere on the course, some teams were fairing better
and some, alas not. The Eastern Star course was in sparkling condition for
this event but even so, it still provides a stern test to golfers of all
abilities.
The TAGGS invitational is traditionally held every year
to celebrate Stephen Beard’s birthday, so back at the Haven a festive
atmosphere prevailed amongst all the prize giving. Once the scoring had been
verified, Richard Livingston announced that the winners of this year’s
event were Joe McArdle, Peter Henshaw, Arthur Hancock and Jerry McCarthy who
between them posted a very respectable 12 under par score. The second and
third places were decided on count-back whilst Mr. Loy’s Caddy Shack team
came in 4th. The novelty prize (wooden spoon) went to Ray Walton, Philip
Boghurst, Yves Philibert and Alan Beesley. For their efforts, they were each
awarded a magnificent ’20kg’ elephant sculpture to take home with them.
All that remained was for those in attendance to enjoy
the rest of the evening and observe Mr. Loy conduct more bartering and
exchanging of prizes than normally goes on in a back street Turkish bazaar.
Finally, thanks go out to Stephen Beard and Lamyai and the Haven team for
once again staging a superb event. Steven turned 65 on Dec 7and we all hope
to be back to celebrate his birthday again next year: Many Happy Returns,
Steven.
Results:
1st Joe McArdle, Peter Henshaw, Arthur Hancock, Jerry McCarthy: 132 (12
under par)
2nd Tom Sathrum, Michael Dige, Al Rolnik, Rich Garland: 133 (11 under par)
cb 61
3rd Yasuo Suzuki, Jens Gunnarsson, Rodney Nabbe, Mark Woods: 133 (11 under
par) cb 65
4th Roy Mitchell, Keith Forrt, Wilf Latham, Bill Hewitt: 134 (10 under par)
cb 67
Philbrook and Payne by a shot
Mike Franklin
Scores were close in the Jameson’s Pairs Combined
Stableford at Plutaluang (S&N) on Wednesday November 30, but Simon
Philbrook and Jason Payne’s combined fifty-three Stableford points total
was just one shot good enough to win. Commiserations go out to Rich Wibrow /
Mosquito Bill and Ann Drader / Banjob Franklin: both pairs scored a combined
fifty-two points. Four technicals were on offer - Banjob being nearest the
pin on S.4 and Alistair Cummings on the Lighthouse hole N.3. The long putt
on S.9 was not claimed and Jason sank the longest on N.9. The weather was
fine and hot and the course in good shape, although the greens were slower
than usual.
Back at Jameson’s a new Wednesday special was on the
menu. Succulent baked ham with vegetables in its own stock, and quite
delicious.
The next outing will be the JIGS ‘Jinger Bens’ Christmas Scramble at
Eastern Star Friday 23 December - a festive fun tournament to start the
Christmas holiday: Entry details in Jameson’s and in Pattaya Mail. Entry
is open to all and is 300 baht. The Wednesday 21 December warm-up will not
take place due to the busy schedule leading up to Christmas.
Grave injustice befalls ‘One Ball’
IPGC golf from Lewiinski’s
Sunday 27 November
Green Valley - White Tees,
Stableford
1st A Flight: Mark White, 44 points
2nd A Flight: “Woody” Sherwood, 40 points
3rd A Flight: Dave Tanner, 39 points
1st B Flight: Joe McArdle, 40 points
2nd B Flight: Jay Nakagawa, 39 points
3rd B Flight: Frank Pilkigton, 37 points
1st C Flight: Colm Mullem, 46 points
2nd C Flight: Dave Porter, 44 points
3rd C Flight: Paul Shaw, 44 points
1st D Flight: John Ginnane, 41 points
2nd D Flight: Alec Hoare, 39 points
3rd D Flight: Brian Cooper, 39 points
NP’s: #2 Jay Nakagawa; #9 John McHugh; #12 Bob Lindborg; #16 Jack
Grindvold
2’s: Mark White (2); John McHugh (2); Joe Mooneyham;
Frank Pilkington, Colin Davis; J.J. Wright; Bob Lindborg; Stan Dismuke;
Charles Sheppard
There are no words, at least of which this scribe is
aware, to right the injustice that occured in the Society this grim day at
Green Valley. Here is a man struggling against the odds, nursing injuries
from numerous sources, not the least of which is when he fell off his roof
and had to be re-dropped because he had rolled more than two club lengths.
And the challenges aren’t just physical, he has had caddies switched on
him between the front of the clubhouse and the back, he has been plagued by
slow play both in front of him... and behind him, and he has suffered verbal
accostings simply because his God-given voice could break glass from four
fairways away. So here is this weary but brave figure coming home, against
all odds, with 43 points and what happens in C Flight...? Nada, nothing,
nyet! No loot, no applause, only this scant epitaph in this weekly journal
and, of course, the satisfaction that his handicap went down. Raise a glass
to One Ball... and George; ring the bell if you would!
Now, it is on to the culprits who precipitated this.
Sporting a well-seasoned handicap from past stays and from a prolonged
pre-Christmas visit, Colm Mullen put together a career making and C Flight
winning 46 points/gross 80 effort. Two other vets of numerous Pattaya
rounds, Dave Porter and Paul Shaw, locked horns at 44 points with David
having the math his way and in C Flight with 43 points... oh never mind,
you’ve already heard that story.
With the course clearly vulnerable in its Sunday
configuration, John White, visiting from the States, and playing off a tidy
9 handicap had 44 points to lead the premier Flight. Freddie Jacobson’s
right hand man on both the PGA and European tour, Mark “Woody” Sherwood,
had a fantastic 40 points off his 5 handicap for sole A Flight second. Both
Marks tied for medalist on the day with gross 73’s! Dave Tanner, whose
consistency was apparent when he first arrived, has now shown that his
surgically repaired shoulder is coming good and that he has acclimated to
Pattaya golf as his 39 points kept Johnny McQ’s 38 points at bay, as well
as the 37 points of Wacko Jacko..
D Flight was not about to go unnoticed as John Ginnane
saw his 41 points stand up for the top step. The always in the money Alec
Hoare won a count back over Svelte Brian Cooper for second. Brian, although
a mere shadow of his former self, still lobbied that a scale be used to
break the D Flight tie.
B Flight provided the most modest of winning scores,
although hardly modest it was, as the Leprechaun, Joe McArdle, amassed 40
points, leaving Jay Nakagawa’a 39 points a step below. Frankie the Pilk
rounded out a day of big point totals as his 37 was good for third. Now hold
it, that’s not fair...One Ball had 43!
Monday 28 November
Pattaya C.C. -White Tees,
Stableford
1st A Flight: Joe Carney, 38 points
2nd A Flight: Bruce Milner, 35 points
1st A Flight: Colm Mullen, 34 points
1st B Flight: Poo Supaporn, 38 points
2nd B Flight: Pat Adland, 37 points
3rd B Flight: Dave Porter, 36 points
2’s: Phil Groves; Colin Davis; Poo Supaporn
Mondays are always a bit calm as they have that
“morning after” feel coming so soon on the heels of the big Sunday
outings and all the more so with a dozen of the lads and lasses headed to
the hills of Soi Dao for a three day test. Still, two well stocked flights
battled their way around the perhaps unglamorous, but still very challenging
Pattaya Country Club. Both Flight winners managed 38 points as A Flight was
led by yet another lad from the Old Sod, Joe Carney, and B Flight was taken
by the suddenly resurgent First Lady. Joe was followed in the top Flight by
Aussie Bruce Milner in his getaway round and by the toast of Sunday, Colm
Mullen. Poo was followed up the podium by newcomer Pat Adland and Dave
Porter, who was stepping on the podium for the second time in two days.
Wednesday 30 November
Burapha - Crystal &
Dune - Blue or
White Tees,
Stableford
1st Blue Flight: Jeremy Masse, 35 points
1st White A Flight: John Emmerson, 36 points
2nd White A Flight: Colm Mullen, 35 points
3rd White A Flight: Barry Murnin, 35 points
1st White B Flight: Brian Cooper, 41 points
2nd White B Flight: John Clements, 37 points
3rd White B Flight: Dr. Raimund Cerny, 36 points
Near Pins: Blue: None; White: #17 - Ian Dale
2’s: Blue: Jeremy Masse - White: John Emmerson; Colm
Mullen, Barry Murnin; Vic Hester; Kurt-Erik Persson
Jeremy Masse may find a free one -way ticket to the
destination of his choice under the Christmas tree this year if the Society
has anything to say about it, just to give someone else a chance to win.
Jeremy’s 35 points, off his new 11 handicap, was two ahead of the next
Blue Flight competitor. Uncharacteristically, the lads and lasses flocked to
the shorter white tees this day on the imaginative Crystal and Dune nines of
Burapha. The round of the day, off the Whites, and in B Flight, belonged to
the “BBC”, Big Brian Cooper, and his 41 points. Mr. Clements was second
with 37 points, edging the good doctor, Raimund Cerney and newcomer, Pat
Adland by a single point. With the surgical precision seldom seen in
PhD’s, Raimund did in Pat on count back.
The Golf Manager showed a fondness for his uncommon
appearance on the forward tees as he took the top Flight of the White
Division with 36 points. Colm Mullen, for the third time in three outings
this week hit the pay station, this time due to a counted back 35 points
that left new comer Barry Murnin a step below and the Guru of Green Valley
out in the cold.
Glyn Nicholas aces at Khao Kheaw
IPGC golf from The Haven
Mon 28 November
Khao Kheaw A&B,
Monthly Medal Yellow Tees Division
1 (0-15)
1st Glyn Nicholas: 65
2nd Frank Hughes: 73
3rd Eero Pirohonen: 75 c/b 33
4th Pekka Raiha: 75 c/b 35
Division 2 (16plus)
1st Tom Sathrum: 70
2nd Mark Woods: 74 c/b 34
3rd Mike Dinsdale: 74 c/b 42
4th Ron Dalen: 82
With 11 golfers away at Soi Dao, it must have been a
surprise for Stephen to see an amazing 33 golfers sign-up for the first ever
Monthly Medal at Khao Kheaw. The AB layout was in good condition, but
judging by the scores, obviously playing quite long for most. Not so for
Glyn Nicholas, who tore the course apart with an amazing 80 gross, helped in
no small part by a “Hole in One” on the long par 3 on B3.
Congratulations Glyn and commiserations to the eight golfers who carded a
“2” only to be denied for the second consecutive competition.
Nevertheless, good shooting, Richard Garland, Phillipe Berra, Rodney Knabbe,
Frank Hughes, Barry Traynor, Rainer Helling, Tom Sathrum & David
Brennan. Prior to the presentation, Richard Livingston, the resident PGA
professional, welcomed Alan Howell & Ticky Donovan OBE, the multiple
Karate gold medalist, who now coaches in the UK to most of the karate medal
winners in the world. Richard also welcomed back Oili Helling and presented
her with a special prize of balls, kindly donated by Jay Nakagawa. Oili lost
7 balls on the island hole, then proceeded to putt her way around the cart
path and over the bridge to complete the hole in a gross 26: that’s
persistence in a medal round!
Mon/Tue 28/29 November
Highland Golf Course, Soi Dao
The eleven golfers who set out on the three-hour journey
to the beautiful mountain course designed by Denis Griffiths, found the
weather rather hotter than in Pattaya, which was a great surprise and a
course that has unfortunately suffered from some disease on the fairways and
greens. Still, it was as lovely as ever to get away from the city noise and
enjoy some great golf high up in the mountains. With the order of play being
a daily stableford competition plus a two-day eclectic, scores were
excellent to say the least. Monday was dominated by Jens Gunnarsson who
carded 40 points to take the honors from Dave Maynard and Brian Kelly who
both scored 37 points. On Tuesday it was Barry Winton’s turn to shoot the
lights out with a fantastic 71 gross for 41 points, leaving Brian Kelly and
Dave Maynard once again the runners-up on 39 points and 37 points
respectively. The two day eclectic turned out to be very close and the prize
was finally claimed by Jens Gunnarsson and Dave Maynard on 46 points with
Brian Kelly on 45 points and Barry Winton on 44 points
Wed 30 November
Emerald Ban Chang, Stableford
Division 1 (0-15)
1st Artur Tiefenthgler: 33
2nd Alan Beesley: 32
3rd Chang Suh: 31 c/b 14
4th Al Rolnik: 31 c/b 13
Division 2 (16 plus)
1st Brian Kelly: 33 c/b 15, c/b 6 10
2nd Nile Sheehan: 33 c/b 15, c/b6 9
3rd Roar Berger: 32
4th Brian Cole: 29
The largest turnout so far this high season and what a
greeting from the new management: No carts, no lockers, no balls on the
driving range and a Thai six-ball put out in front to ensure a 5-6 hour
round. What the new management have achieved on the course however, is
magnificent greens that are treacherously fast and along with the slow play,
must surely have wreaked havoc to many a scorecard. Still, everything is
relevant and Artur and Brian toiled long and hard for their 33 points, which
was good enough to take the days honors! In the “2”s competition we
finally had some winners with Al Rolnik and Hans Eriksson sharing the
Division 1 prize and yet another rollover in Division 2. Prior to the
delayed presentation, Richard Livingston, welcomed Alex Tate and welcomed
back Brian Cole, Alan Beesley, Michael Dige & Gordon Langtry, before
bidding a sad farewell to our “on course organizer”, Trevor Schirmer who
is off back to Australia to look after the sheep for a few weeks. Bon Voyage
Trevor!
Footnote: A word of warning about the Hole-in-One
prize of Baht 30,000 offered by Citibank at Khao Kheaw and several other
golf courses. Written in small print in Thai only, is the condition that you
must pay your green fee by Citibank credit card in order to claim the prize.
Poor Glyn found this out to his cost, so if anyone should have a Citibank
card, use it!
Dan Sell does it again at Emerald Banchang
PSC McAllister’s Golf
Friday December 2, - The second
McAllister’s Champion of the Month event again attracted a worthy turnout
of 38 golfers all of whom endeavoured to have their names inscribed on the
handsome trophy that sits on the bar at McAllister Bar & Grill.
McAllister’s golf is held every Friday at Emerald Banchang, and Champion
of the Month is awarded on the first Friday of each month.
Winners
L/R: Bill, Dan (with Monthly Tankard) Mikael, Nigel & Rodney
The course and the weather cooperated to give the players
every chance to turn in a creditable score, and it was Dan Sell who won the
day recording 42 stableford points off his handicap of 30. Interviewed back
at McAllister’s after receiving his just rewards, Dan told your reporter
that “he decided to go out and hit the ball and have fun” the latter
being something that we all enjoyed as Dan distributed his largess amongst
the parched patrons. Rodney Iishi, playing with the Hawaiian mafia and his
beautiful wife, came in second with 40 points off his handicap of 21, while
the low handicappers Bill Thompson (10) and Mikael Andersson (6) took out
third and fourth prizes respectively with 38 points. The field was large
enough for tournament organizer Gerry Carpenter to award a fifth prize to
Nigel Cannon who came in with 36 points off his handicap of 25. Lucky-draw
prizes of PSC paraphernalia-shirts, caps, golf balls and towels were awarded
to the delight of my brethren who did not shoot so well.
All are welcome at this popular event. Show up at Emerald BanChang on
Fridays some time between 7:30 and 8:00 am and you will be sure of a game
with a very friendly group of golfers. As we get into the busy season we
would ask golfers to share a cart with playing partners-golf carts being in
short supply. Remember also that in PSC sanctioned tournaments; you must
putt out-no gimmees!
Nile & Keith, the stars of the show at The Navy
PSC golf with the
Grapevine
No, not Nile & Keith from the Village People, but our
very own Nile Sheehan & Keith Hodges from the Grapevine golfers: 25 of
us headed down to Sattahip to play the South & East course at the very
good value Royal Thai Navy golf course. And well presented it was too, with
good fairways, greens in excellent condition and helpful, friendly staff to
make our day as enjoyable as possible. As I alluded to earlier, the winners
of the day in their respective flights (0 - 18 & 19 up) were Nile (16)
& Keith (26), both of whom shot a creditable 38 pts. Filling the runners
up spots was Steve Hamstad (14) beaten on a count back with 38, while Mike
Larsen (19) recorded 37 pts in his flight.
 Divisional
winners Nile Sheehan (left) and Keith Hodges (right)
With the major prizes decided, there was anticipation by
many of having secured a technical prize via a Near Pin or Long Putt. The
prizes were well spread with only Keith Avery being skilful enough to double
dip. Well played, Keith! The rest were shared by Nile, Andy, Jackie, Paul,
Jeff, Rich & Peter. The lucky draws were picked up by Dick, David
(again) & Rick. Those vouchers make an enjoyable day even better.
Another good day of golf completed, it was time to go
home and mark off the days until next Thursday when we can do it all again.
If you think you could see yourself enjoying a round of golf with the
Grapevine crew, come on down to Soi Regent Marina & sign up.
Cheers & Good Golfing.
The Jomtien 8-Ball Pool League
Lucky Bar back at the top
Week 7 is only early days in the 30 week competition but
a handful of teams are already looking like they are could be a cut above
the rest. Lucky Bar bounced back after their defeat last week to regain
bragging rights as sole owners of the top rung of the ladder with a 5-4 win
at Cosy Bar. The home team gave them a tougher match than expected, holding
them to 3-3 after the singles. However, Cosy Bar couldn’t repeat last
week’s heroics, the first two doubles going to the visitors.
The
Scooby’s team looking happy with their 5-4 win at Moonshine
Woaw’s Pub, at home, retained their unbeaten record;
breaking Simple Simon’s run of four wins with the 5-4 victory. At Country
Club, reigning Champions San Snack Bar were pushed further down into
unfamiliar territory on the ladder. Country Club has had some good victories
and the 7-2 score sees them building an impressive game difference.
Scooby’s recorded their second victory - the first away
- of the season, at Moonshine. In what is getting to be a regular feature
for Moonshine, the singles were shared but the doubles were hard to come by,
resulting in their fifth 5-4 defeat. Even with the home advantage, Sky Bar
were no match for Echoes who continue to impress with their fourth
consecutive win. Echoes have ‘catch-up’ matches still to play against
Woaw’s and Country Club - matches that may well see the ‘team to beat’
emerge from the pack.
In other matches: Carefree Bar crashed to their third 7-2
defeat in a row at Elephant Bar who are getting into their stride and could
emerge as the dark horse later in the season; Hide-A-Way edged a little
further up the ladder with their 6-3 win at Rose & Thistle; and after
their shaky start to the season, Paweena’s made it three wins in a row,
taking the points with a 6-3 victory in de Windmolen’s first home match.
Next week, Simple Simon have another tough one against
the visiting Country Club, which could sort out the upper rungs on the
ladder and San Snack Bar will be looking to get back on track with the home
advantage against Hide-A-Way.
Andersson triumphs in tight contest
IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the OK Corral
Tuesday, November 29 the Pattaya Golf
Society visited distant Noble Place to play their ‘players’ choice’
event, which is traditionally the final event of the month. This time the
chosen format was stableford over the “A” and “B” nines and
revisiting the attractive course was incentive enough for the quality field,
despite it also being the climax to the society’s Player of the Month
competition. The course was in excellent condition and the scores reflected
this with the field averaging 36  Mr.
Denis presents “Player of the Month”, Peter Fitton (right), with his
prize.
stableford
points each; a quality performance. A huge clutch of golfers jostled in
third place with 38 points and Sam Fitzsimmons, Chaten Patel, Peter Fitton
and Paul Scully will have been disappointed that their efforts were not
better rewarded. But how could they compete with the mastery of
six-handicappers Chang Suh and Mikael Andersson. Chang scored 39 points and
still lost out, as Mikael played some of the best golf of his life in
posting 40 points, his gross 74 featuring a wondrous back nine, which saw
him falter on only one hole in his gross 35. The twos pot was shared by
Chaten Patel and Mike Justen, and Mr. Len’s exuberant altercation with the
over-officious starter was rewarded with the Booby Bevy. The event also
witnessed the culmination of the Player of the Month competition and after a
fistful of excellent performances Peter Fitton held his nerve to win from
Rob Dolan and John Cunningham. It was a “Fitton” end to a fine month’s
golf out of the OK Corral. No
monkey business for King Cole
Thursday, December 1, a small group of golfers from the Pattaya Golf
Society went to Bangpra for their weekly stableford event. Numbers were down
as a result of it being the eve of the very popular TAGGS Invitational but
nevertheless everyone threw themselves into the competition as if this was
the big one! The day was pleasantly warm and the course was well prepared.
Amazingly for Bangpra, the group were able to tee-off before their allotted
time and the leaders made good headway down the opening holes. Newly crowned
“Player of the Month”, Peter Fitton had locked horns with challengers
Rob Dolan and Len Jones and the trio played out a very close sub-plot, but
Peter’s one point advantage was good enough for him to take third place
with 30 points. Bob Lindborg fired the day’s best gross for his score of
32 points but he was just shaded by partner Brian Cole’s 33 point card for
first place. There were no birdie twos on a day when the greens were their
usual pace, requiring control, touch and skill. As usual, many of the local
primates were observed and on one occasion John Bowes’ Heineken can
disappeared in the hands of a monkey, who obviously preferred Singha and
deposited the contents of the can on the fairway. John was consoled with the
Booby Bevy as a result. Bangpra had been fun despite the monkey business.
John ‘the’ King at Eastern Star
PSC golf with The Bunker
Crystal Bay Country Club - Monday 28
November
It was a large turn out to start the week with a
stableford competition at the popular Crystal Bay golf course. Two divisions
for the Boys from the Bunker and the cut was at 17 and under. In the “A”
division Paul Edgar returned the best score of the day with 41 points to
take top honors. Second place went to Roger Privett with 40 points and
Gordan Melia and William Macey tied for third place with 36 points each. In
the “B” division P.J. Redmond scored 39 points to top the billing and
Doug Landsborough and Jim Wooler shared second place honors with 37 points
each. Near the pins were won by Jim Wooler, Sean McVitty, Barry Jones and
David Hughes.
Eastern Star Country Club
- Wednesday 30 November
As usual, the last match of the month is a battle for the
“Golfer of the Month” honors. Geordie Hudson had a slim one shot lead
over Roger Privett and Geoff Parker had an outside chance to win it for a
third time, but the day belonged to Geordie Hudson as he returned home with
the victory, we will feature Geordie Hudson in next weeks article. There
were two divisions for the medal competition with John King shooting a great
round of net 69 to take top honors in the “A” division, William Macey
was second with a net 73 and third place went to Tony Scrambler with net 74.
In the “B” division first prize went to Bryan Rought for his score of
net 73, second place had joint runners-up between Doug Landsborough and
Geordie Hudson, both scoring net 74. Near the pins were won by Mike Lloyd,
Tony Scambler, John King and Sean McVitty.
Pattaya Country Club -
Friday 02 December
The week ended with a stableford competition with the
best scores coming in from the “B” division. Sean McVitty scored 43
points along with Geordie Hudson to share first prize. Bob Turner and
Charlie Gooch shared third place with 41 points each. There was a three-way
tie for top position in the “A” division with 38 points each.
Congratulations to Beach Eaton, Roger Privett and Tony Scambler. Near the
pins were won by Jim Wooler, Gordan Melia, Peter Habgood and Charlie Gooch.
As a reminder, during the high season, all golfers must
register for their golf 15 minutes prior to departure time. The Bunker Boys
are located on Soi Chaiyapoon (near X-zyte disco and across the street from
Tony’s Disco II). Monthly golf schedules are available or consult the
Pattaya Mail every week.
Beginners “Tango Cup”
at the Siam Polo Park
The Beginners “Tango Cup” at Siam Polo Park kicked
off a new season of horse polo in Thailand during the weekend of 19-20
November. Siam Polo Park is the first outdoor polo field in Thailand and is
a keen participant in promoting Pattaya as “The City of Sport.”
Fierce
competition between the Siam and Kuppa Polo teams at the beginners ‘Tango
Cup’.
The Beginners “Tango Cup” is a low goal polo match
for polo newcomers to practice their skills with some experienced players.
However, the polo on Saturday was anything but slow. William Roberts led the
Siam Polo Team to a thrilling start, and then executed a unique dismounting
procedure over the head of his horse leaving Marco to take his place. This
was followed soon after by Feder trying to execute a backhand shot, but
accidentally hitting Robin in the arm. The vet diagnosed a hematoma, so
Robin was retired and Tom took her place. This gave the Siam Polo Team a lot
to think about with these two new replacements. Susy on the Kuppa Team
performed flawlessly, covering Feder, so he was unable to move the ball up
the field. Mimi, one of the most glamorous polo players in the Kingdom, was
striking the ball very well and her teammate; Jaime was also keeping
everyone on their toes.
Day Two of the competition saw Ploy performing very well
in the number one spot for the Kuppa Team. Churo (the Vet) replaced Jaime,
who was taken off the line by a young lady visiting from Spain the night
before. Un came on very strong, working with Churo, and they were trying to
help Feder carry the ball up field, but Susy’s strong defence was just too
much for Feder and the Siam Team was not getting the goals. Marco had many
strong hits up field to Ploy who executed one very nice goal.
After the final Chukka, it seemed like Robin’s superior
coaching tactics had given the Kuppa team the edge with Kuppa winning the
tournament 5-3 at the final bell on Sunday afternoon.
The Polo was followed by a traditional Argentine
“Asado” (Barbeque) on Saturday evening and everyone enjoyed an evening
beneath the stars watching a demonstration of the very unique Argentine
Tango dance. Argentina is famous for producing the best polo horses and the
best polo players in the world, and the Tango dancers aren’t that bad
either.
Polo has been growing rapidly over the past three years, as there are now
three polo fields in Thailand and this past summer, Vichai Raksriaksorn and
his two sons, Top and Ton, were playing polo with Prince Charles and Prince
William in England for a charity match. Beginners are welcome to come and
visit Siam Polo Park and can find more information on the webpage -
www.siampolonews.com
Square Ring
by Howie Reed If
you’re a boxing fan world wide you can get a little bit of this and a little
bit of that in the next week. Our good friends the Poms are on pins and needles
awaiting the big Danny Williams (33-4) heavyweight fight against Audley “The
Fraudley” Harrison (19-0) tomorrow night at the Excel Center in London. The
pre fight has been just this side of silly. One would think that two supposed
‘grown men’ could come up with better chatter than, “He quit Britain so he
didn’t have to fight the best here. Even Lennox Lewis faced the best here and
won the British title before he moved on to America,” said Williams. The
implication here is that Harrison is a quitter. But the fact is that it was
Williams who pulled out of a fight in July against British Champion Matt
Skelton. To bolster the view that Harrison will quit, Williams pointed out that
when they sparred many years ago, Harrison didn’t want to continue. “I can
see the old Audley having flashbacks from our session and wanting to quit when
the pressure is on, “said Williams.
All of this may be true but there aren’t even a lot of
‘average’ heavyweights in the ‘mother country’ let alone any good ones.
In Audley’s defense, like Jessie James he went where the money was. Fighters
develop and heavyweights do so more than others. Williams’ next comment is
really silly though... “Harrison instead chose the bright lights and glitter
of Las Vegas and surrounded himself with ‘Yes’ men hoping to become a big
player out there. How can you be number one in the capital of boxing if you’re
not number one in your own capital? He has never been taken seriously by the
American media and public because of the quality of the opponents he has fought
like Robert Wiggins, Lisandro Diaz and Brian Nix. In contrast, when I fought in
America and beat Mike Tyson in Louisville last year I was mobbed by the public
and media.”
Yes Mr. Williams and those no names fought by Harrison are
probably better than the Mike Tyson you beat. Harrison called Williams a
“preliminary fighter”. They both are, so the above is “Much To Do About
Nothing”. H’mm that phrase sounds familiar.
Got a couple of other title fights the same day. In Puerto
Rico WBO Straw champ Ivan Calderon puts his undefeated record of 23-0 on the
line against always-tough Daniel Reyes (35-3-1). The key to this one is that
Reyes has lost two out of the last three and appears to be heading down the
hill. This is probably a fight that was made to showcase the hometown champ.
In Germany, fighting on his home turf, Arthur Abraharn has
built up a record of 18-0 with only Harry Eastman being a name opponent. The
favorite here for the vacant IBF Middleweight title should be Kingsley Ikeke
(23-1) if he can over come what will be a hometown crowd but for once, not the
judging and refereeing. The judges are from Italy, Canada and USA. The third man
in the ring will be Samuel Viruet from New York City.
One of Ikeke’s wins came against Kirino Garcia (37-26-3)
who will be getting in the ring in Perth on Sunday against local favorite, Danny
Green (20-2). Garcia, fighting as barely a teenager lost his first 18 fights on
the trot so toss them out and he’s 37-8-2, which is respectable. What isn’t,
is that Garcia was KO’d in his last fight and the boxer that knocked him out
was also KO’d in his next fight. Looks like a set up for Green, as he gets
ready for Anthony Mundine (24-3) who will fight Kiwi, Rico Chong Nee, who at
10-6-2 barely qualifies as a warm body. This card of course leads up to
Green-Mundine set for February of next year. Of course it would have to be next
year as February this year has been taken.
Last week it was written in this space “What do I think?
I’d like Taylor to win again. He’s young and getting better. Hopkins is
neither of those.” Having put my considerable prestige on the line The Square
Ring was, therefore, really surprised that for the big fight last Sunday
(Pattaya Time), Bernard Hopkins (46-3-1) was a slight favorite. A win and he
would have reclaimed the WBC/WBA/WBO Middleweight titles he lost to Jermine
Taylor (24-0). Usually the odds makers are spot on. This time they missed the
boat; either they don’t read The Square Ring, perish the thought or they fell
for Hopkins whining and crying like a baby routine. The “Books” had Hopkins
at -125 and Taylor at -105. That means that if you liked Hopkins, you would
place 125 baht to win 100. The astute of you out there will have figured out
that at -125 and -105, the “Books” are in a win- win situation. At one of
the last pre-fight press conferences, called “pressers”, Taylor brought out
a wind up doll that when prompted, would cry like a baby. “This is Bernard
Hopkins,” said Taylor.
The actual fight... it was almost an instant replay of their
first encounter. Taylor started fast, built a lead then retained control for a
115-113 win on all the judges’ cards. As with most ‘pre-hyped fights,’
this one under-achieved in the excitement department. It was another
“ho-hum” event. It did though mark the emergence of Jermine Taylor as a
budding superstar. Jeff Lacy can join those ranks if he is successful; against
Joe Calzaghe next year.
One of those in attendance in Las Vegas was Ricky Hatton. He
was there courtesy of American cable giant HBO who would like to lure him into
their ever diminishing fold of house fighters. That population got smaller on
Saturday night with Hopkins now probably done. Some may not have recognized
Hatton as he had plastic surgery early in the week to take care of the cuts
received in his title defense against Carlos Maussa. Hatton will be out for six
months. If he signs with HBO that would be just in time for a May 2006 bout with
Arturo Gatti: now that would be a real blockbuster!
Another blockbuster was the bad last couple of weeks
experienced by our pal Monkey House Fred. First his bar, The Twilight Zone
closed its doors for good. Then just last week, Fred lost his grammar school
sweetheart; she decided to go to high school.
I’ll drink to that.
The Beautiful Game: Perrin the fall guy for Redknapp return
Riz Taylor
After a break from the Premiership to look at the
fortunes of Brighton, Australia and the sad loss of George Best, the next
few weeks allow the chance to turn attentions once again to the ‘EPL’,
as they like to refer to it in this neck of the woods.
A brief glance at the table sees the same old suspects
rising to the top of the pile, with Chelsea now being trailed by Manchester
United, Liverpool and Arsenal. But what happened to Charlton? And Wigan? And
West Ham? It’s like going back to a beer bar after midnight and finding
all the cute young things have disappeared, to be confronted by all the
washed-up old boilers. Only Spurs and Bolton look to be in with a chance of
breaking the monopoly of the big four.
As things take a more familiar shape, so the practice of
hiring and firing unsuccessful managers has also begun as clubs desperately
attempt to cling onto all-important Premiership status. First to blink were
Portsmouth; chairman Milan Mandaric dismissing Alain Perrin after a poor run
of results. It was a short tenure for the Frenchman who had precious little
time to make his own impact on the South Coast side. At least he’s in the
right place to catch a ferry back to France, and if he books before December
5th he can take a small car and relax in his own cabin for just 77 pounds on
the Cherbourg route.
The usual names have been touted around the media as his
replacement. Sir Bobby Robson continues to be linked with every job under
the sun ranging from the next Barnet reserve coach to Chief Secretary of the
United Nations, and Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock was believed to be
favourite before rejecting the deal and opting to stay at Bramall Lane. But
over the weekend developments down the road at rivals Southampton might
clear the way for a shock return for Harry Redknapp. The cheeky cockney has
walked out at St.Mary’s after chairman Rupert Lowe refused to allow his
Portsmouth counterpart Mandaric the required opportunity to speak to his old
manager.
Lowe has admitted he was stunned by Redknapp’s
departure. “Unfortunately, Harry has revealed that he felt more
comfortable at Pompey,” he said. “It all happened too quickly for anger
to set in.”
Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Redknapp said: “The last
year has been the worst of my life and that is no exaggeration. I don’t
know what possessed me to leave Portsmouth in the first place. I’m an
emotional man at the best of times but I made a monumental mistake walking
out of Fratton Park and a day hasn’t passed since I left the ground for
the last time that I didn’t regret my decision,” he said, further
warming himself to Southampton’s supporters.
“The truth is I have had my rows with chairman Milan
Mandaric but they were petty and the vast majority were my fault,” he
added. “The only reason I remained at the club (Southampton) following
relegation was I felt I owed it to the fans to get them back up, but I would
be a liar if I said my heart was in the job. Events this season have simply
increased my desire to get away and once Portsmouth asked permission to
speak to me this week I knew I had to go back.”
It seems everyone’s happy with the arrangement. Pompey
supporters get their beloved ‘Arry back at Fratton Park, whilst
Southampton fans bombarded radio phone-ins to offer to drive Harry Redknapp
back to Portsmouth themselves after seeing their club plummet into
Championship obscurity under the Londoner’s stewardship. As he picks up
his duty-free cigarettes on the ferry, Alain Perrin will wonder what to make
of it all.
Crouch scores
Former Southampton striker Peter Crouch scored his first
goal for Liverpool last Saturday in their win over Wigan Athletic, which
surely deserves a headline of its own after a wait of 22 games.
Neville will take armband
England defender and teacher’s pet Gary Neville has
been handed the club captaincy of Manchester United after the departure of
Roy Keane. Sir Alex Ferguson had been deliberating between Neville, Ryan
Giggs and Ruud van Nistelrooy before finally settling on the defender who
has made over 500 appearances for United.
“Given the service Gary has given this club, it is the
right decision,” said Ferguson gloomily. “Ryan was under consideration,
but you cannot expect someone of his age to be running up and down the
touchline every game. He will still play a lot of matches for us, but we
want to try and keep the freshness in his legs, so he will not play every
week.”
Meanwhile, forgotten man Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made a
return to action in a reserve fixture against Liverpool on Monday. The
Norwegian has been sidelined with cruciate ligament damage since 2003. He is
most famous for notching United’s winning goal in the 1999 Champions
League victory over Bayern Munich and also for looking about sixteen years
old.
Official : Ronaldinho can
play a bit
In case you missed it, Brazilian midfielder, forward and
all-round magician Ronaldinho was voted European Footballer of the Year for
2005 last week. The Ballon D’Or is recognised as the highest accolade
available to players earning their wages in European football. Barcelona’s
goofy genius tearfully collected the award after receiving a standing
ovation from many of football’s greats, including over twenty former
winners that included the likes of Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Eusebio.
It was a fitting end to the week for the Brazilian, who had earlier been
given the honour of another standing ovation, this time from Real Madrid’s
home fans, after masterminding a 3-0 spanking of the home side at the
Bernabeu. It was the first time the Madrid fans had applauded a Barca player
since Diego Maradona in the 1980’s.
The Premiership was highly represented in the awards, with second and
third place taken by England midfield duo Frank Lampard and Liverpool
captain Steven Gerrard. Arsenal’s Thierry Henry was fourth, followed by
the Milan pairing of Andriy Shevchenko and 75 year-old defender Paulo
Maldini. Chelsea’s John Terry took tenth place. Lampard, Ronaldinho and
Samuel E’too are the three nominees for the FIFA World Player of the Year
award, due to be announced on December 19.
Gross 72 for Mike Allidi
I.P.G.C. golf with The Caddy Shack
Tuesday November 29 the golfers from The Caddy Shack went
to Bangpra to play a medal competition; the course is back to its best and
the greens must be the fastest around with very tricky pin positions. The 28
golfers were split into two divisions with the cut being 14 and under. In
Division two the golfers found it a little difficult and only one golfer
came in under par. 3rd place went to Ed Trayling with a net 76, 2nd place
went to Mike Corner with a net 75 and in 1st place was Ben Findon with his
one under par 71. The lower handicappers in Division one scored a lot better
with in 3rd place Bill Hewitt with a net 72, in 2nd place was Jorgene with a
net 71, but the winner off his new handicap of 2, was Mike Allidi with a
gross 72, minus his 2 handicap to leave a net 70. Mike has been working hard
on his game just lately and he reaped the benefits on this day. The Two‘s
were shared between Stefan Gunnersson, Jorgene, Cecil Williamson and Richard
Wardell. The winner of the booby prize had to go to Les Hall who decided to
save the entry money as he said he never gets a Two, and yes you guessed it
he got a Two. So he received a nice bunch of Bananas,and the rules are you
have to be in it to win it. Mr Suzuki who is eating more European food than
Japanese lately won the complimentary Sunday lunch
Thursday December 1 we travelled to Crystal Bay for a
weekly Stableford competition and were directed to play B & C courses:
This course is truly a pleasure to visit. The cut was made at 18 and under
and in Division one there was a 3-way tie for 2nd place between David
Lightfoot, Jorgene and Stefan Gunnersson; all with 34 points. They all
reminisced over missed shots that would have given them the outright win.
The winner on his own was Geordie with 35 points. In Division two there was
a two way tie for 2nd place between Danny Green and Clark Alexander, both
getting 35 points but ahead again was Ben Findon with 37 points for 1st
place. The Two‘s were shared between Clark Alexander and Jorgene, and it
was very unique as they both got 2 each. Ben Findon got a Two but he
declined the opportunity of winning by not entering so sorry Ben the old
saying again, have a bunch of Bananas instead. After everyone had a little
chuckle at him, he got the last laugh as he was drawn out of the Hat as the
lucky winner of the Sunday lunch. Tuesday December 13 we are at Bangpra and
we are departing at 10.00am and on Thursday 15 we are at Treasure Hills and
we are leaving the Caddy Shack at 9.30am.
The Caddy Shack is situated on the second part of Soi 17
on the same road as the Harley Bar. For anyone wishing to play golf we leave
the bar at 11.00am for a Midday tee off; we play every Tuesday and Thursday
and all are welcome.
Friends takes over top spot
Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League
200 Bowlers -
Leo, Kran, Antero & Teuvo
Friends led by Teuvo’s 539 series, beat VFW Post 9876
for all four points to move into first place once again. Tue rolled a 524
series for VFW Post 9876. Mai’s Thai Restaurant dropped into second place
as they were defeated by Brother D, who won three points in that match. Leo
bowled a good series for Brother D with a 233 game, 583 series. Shenanigans
moved into third place as they took three points from House of the Golden
Coin. Paul (P.K.), House of the Golden Coin, was the best in this match
with a 512 series. Domicil moved up to fifth place, taking all four points
from Grape Vine. Jack & Tar won three points from Three Sisters behind
captain Mai’s 555 series and dropping Three Sisters down to a tie for
sixth with Brother D. Captain Kran knocked down 540 pins to lead her Caf้
Kronborg team to a three-point win over Caf้ Ole. Captain Nual, Caf้
Ole, rolled a 533 series. Spare bowler Antero, who bowled games of 221,
151, 212 and a 584 series, turned in the best series of the day
Seaboard FC beat league leaders
Following last weeks 15 goal demolition of Sunbelt
Thaivisa in Bangkok, the visit of league leaders the Bullshead Brazilians
to Horseshoe Point on Saturday would certainly provide a tougher challenge
for Seaboard FC. With some key players missing including captain Gary Munro
and top scorer Peter Ndjana, manager Rick Bryant was forced to ring the
changes and brought in Brian Wilkins and captain for the day Mark
Betteridge to shore up the defence.
The opening few minutes of the match saw the majority of
play concentrated in the middle of the park. It was Seaboard who were first
to create any chance of note on 3 mins when a ball up the line from
Christian Elembe found Adam Gardner whose shot on the run was blocked by
the Bullshead defence. The rebound fell invitingly to Cliff West whose
rasping drive from 20 yards was brilliantly tipped over by the Bullshead
keeper. From the resulting corner the keeper was well positioned again to
hold onto a strong shot from Elembe.
It was not until the 8-minute mark that the Bullshead
troubled the Seaboard goal when they reached the bye-line but the Seaboard
defence easily dealt with the cross. Seaboard should have opened the
scoring on 13 mins when a through ball from Ernest Romario on the left
found the lively Mark Brittain but the Bullshead keeper was to save well
again. 3 minutes later it was Romario himself that nearly broke the
deadlock when he latched onto a loose ball just inside the box but his low
drive flashed just wide of the upright. The Bullshead were finding it
difficult to keep any possession of the ball and Seaboard continued to
press with Romario foiled yet again by the Bullshead keeper on 21 mins when
he should have done better. Their was still more excitement to come from
the resulting corner when an overhead kick by the athletic Elembe was
pushed onto the post by the Bullshead keeper and he was quick enough to
recover and collect the loose ball. A couple of minutes later it was
Romario again with a long throw that found its way to Elembe in the box and
he tried his luck again with another overhead kick that this time gave the
seemingly unbeatable keeper no chance as the ball shot passed him into the
net. Seaboard now had their tails well and truly up and on 27 mins an
excellent pass from John Campbell out to the left found Brittain who cut
inside to release Romario and his shot could only be parried by the
Bullshead keeper with the ball running loose for Cliff West to hammer home.
With a two-goal cushion Seaboard began to grow in confidence and should
have gone further ahead 3 mins before the break when a cross from Romario
was met by the head of Brittain but yet again the Bullshead keeper produced
heroics to keep the ball out.
Halftime came with the score Seaboard FC 2 Bullshead
Brazilians 0. The second half started with the Bullshead adding the
impressive Chatree up front but his supply was being restricted by
Seaboard’s hard working midfield duo of Campbell and Craig Banks.
Seaboard create the first chance of the second period
when Romario picked the ball up near the halfway line and proceeded to go
past 3 defenders before shooting just wide.
The next period of play saw the Bullshead getting a
little more possession of the ball for the first time in the match and were
to make Seaboard pay 12 mins into the half when a cross from the right was
headed into the net with the Seaboard keeper Torn given no chance. The
Bullshead now started to take the game to Seaboard and had the ball in the
net again 5 mins later but the Bullshead forward was correctly given
offside. The Bullshead pressed forward for the equalizer and it eventually
came halfway through the half when a through ball was met by the Bullshead
forward and he expertly slotted the ball under the onrushing Seaboard
keeper and into the net.
Now with the score at 2-2 Seaboard suddenly burst back
into life and should have regained the lead 1 minute later when Romario
lobbed the Bullshead keeper but saw the ball drop agonizingly wide. The
game was now set up for a tense last 15 minutes, however Romario was
starting to come more and more into the game and after another excellent
run, beating off 3 challenges, he shot just wide.
Seaboard eventually regained the lead with the goal of
the afternoon when Brittain was fed the ball wide on the right. He cut
inside outpacing 2 defenders before unleashing an unstoppable drive across
the face of the goal into the far corner of the net. The Bullshead were now
a beaten side and Seaboard were creating chances at will with Romario
hitting the crossbar with the keeper well beaten.
The referee who had up to this point had a quiet
afternoon suddenly gave a bizarre decision when Brittain was clean through
on goal only to be blatantly brought down from behind, with the referee
then awarding Seaboard a corner and not a penalty. However, from this
corner which was swung in hard and low to the near post, a Bullshead
defender managed to deflect the ball past his own keeper for Seaboards
fourth goal of the afternoon.
Seaboard were not finished yet and still had time to add
a fifth goal when Guy Pola cut in from the right and drove past the keeper
in similar style to Brittain’s earlier goal. The final whistle came soon
after with Seaboard running out deserved 5-2 winners.
Manager Rick Bryant was clearly delighted with the
result and the effort that his team had put in, giving particular praise to
his defensive partnership of Betteridge and Wilkins who had looked
impressive all afternoon.
Next Saturday Seaboard travel to Bangkok to face the
British Club. Seaboard’s next home game at Horseshoe Point will be
against Bangkok United on Saturday 17th December, kick off 4:00pm.
Seaboard FC have been fortunate enough to secure the
sponsorship of AGS Four Winds International Movers and Cranes and Equipment
Ltd. Europe-Middle East-Asia for this season and would like to thank them
for their continued support. Anybody who could be interested in joining
Seaboard FC, whether their stay in Thailand is for a long or short period
is more than welcome to come down to the football pitch in Naklua every
Tuesday evening at 6:30pm, contact us at [email protected] or call
Peter on 01 810 1470.
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