Vikings FC - Pattaya International Youth Cup Winter Edition 2024

📌 Pattaya, Thailand 7-8 December 🇹🇭⚽️🏆

After a quick 6 months since the summer, Vikings returned to tour, this time with a promising young U9/U10/U11 team, including former Vikings players from afar. The summer competition was memorable with the U8 & U10 team, and now there was optimism for an even better performance in Pattaya.

Saturday:

All 3 age groups were handed tough draws playing against reigning champions in both the U9 group and U10 group.

U9’s - 2016:

The 2016 boys started slow and were well beaten in their first outing against the reigning champions. Coach Adam told the boys it was a long day ahead and not to get their heads down after an early defeat. After the opening game, the boys picked up quickly and started playing some really good football. They went on to win their remaining games 2-0, 4,-0, 3-1 and 5-0 finishing 2nd in the group, which meant that they qualified for the Cup competition on Sunday. The turnaround was fantastic from the opening match and the boys were full of confidence going into the matches on Sunday.

U10’s - 2015:

Our 2015 boys were coming into the tournament with very little experience, unfortunately they were up against the reigning champions in their age category for the first match. The boys were well beaten and Coach Lenny had to pick them up after their first game. The team then progressed well throughout the day and their remaining games were tight games and the results in each could have gone either way. The team were unlucky to finish bottom of their group and so qualified for the bowl competition on Sunday. Valuable lessons were learnt on day 1 and the experience will put them in very good stead for the future.

U11’s - 2014:

Before the start of the tournament our coaches were optimistic and felt that the 2014 boys with a few very talented 2015 boys would do well. With Coach Pardeep having worked with the boys in the HKJFL for several weeks prior to the tournament, and with Coach Javeed & Coach Adam, we had started seeing the boys gel together nicely. The team hit the ground running, with a well-deserved 1-0 win playing some excellent football. The boys had a great day finishing top of their league and only dropping 2 points all day. They played fantastically well as a team and they deserved maximum points on day 1, but ended up with 4 wins and one draw. The team were full of confidence after day 1 and all were looking forward to day 2.

Sunday:

U9’s - 2016:

The team were heading into a hard mini group on day 2, playing against their biggest rivals in Hong Kong, Boas FC. The boys knew they needed to be at their very best to get a result in this game. The boys started very well and were very disciplined in their approach, however two bad decisions from the referee lead to 2 goals for Boas. The team then created a few good opportunities to pull a goal back but failed to hit the back of the net. And so we ended up losing the game 3-0 with lessons needed to be learnt quickly. Into the second game, where the boys needed to win. An unfortunate own goal and a good strike saw the team 2-0 down within 6 minutes. The team started to click and they started to create many opportunities but again failed to take their chances. The boys eventually pulled one back but it wasn’t meant to be. Into the 3rd game, again the team did everything right but the final touches in front of goal weren’t there. The boys finished 4th in their mini group and really should have qualified for semi-final. Overall the boys finished 7th out of 24 teams and the team did themselves proud, especially after losing their GK and a very important player before the tournament started. The team is in a great place to move forward and we hope they will do one better in June.

U10’s - 2015:

Today the objective for the team was to win the bowl. Winning 3 out of 4 games would have seen the team lift the trophy. The team drew their first game 0-0 and won their 2nd game 2-0. Going into the 3rd game, the boys knew a win would put them in the driving seat. But again a goalless draw saw the team needing to win in their final match. The 4th and final match saw our U10’s play against another team from Hong Kong (AIFA). Our team played really well and hit the post on two occasions. The only thing missing was the final touch in front of goal. Unfortunately this was an issue all weekend with all our teams; the boys finished 2nd in the bowl and they really have done themselves proud.

U11’s - 2014:

We had high hopes for the 2014 boys but they were facing a tough group and were up against Boas FC, another clash with a Hong Kong rival team. This game was a tight affair however the boys couldn’t hold on longer than 7 minutes after defending so well, and the team lost this game 3-0. The other two games both ended in draws and the boys failed to qualify for the cup semi-final by one goal. The team did extremely well all weekend and only lost one game. They played some excellent football but their only downfall was putting the ball in the net, the same as all the other Vikings' teams.

The tournament was a valuable experience for all the teams which had younger players in each age group. The boys certainly did showcase their potential and growth since the last trip. Coach Adam, Coach Javeed, Coach Lenny and Coach Pardeep each commended all of the players and parents for their dedication and support. With valuable lessons learnt, the team looks forward to shining brighter at the next tournament in Pattaya in 2025!