Angthong 0 - 2 Seeker Futera

Seeker Futera has a new hero.

Although he has been part of the club for three weeks now, the registration papers for Mbazomo Stephane / STEPHANE (29) were only processed this week, and he took his place on the bench for the match against Angthong FC today.

When Federico Santana went down injured in the first half, Stephane was handed his chance, and he certainly took it, with two goals in the second half helping Seeker Futera FC defeat the team that occupied top spot in the league before start of play, in their own stadium.

The first half started with Angthong FC, known as the ‘Rice Warriors’ looking neat and tidy in possession, looking effective, but not quite living up to the expectations you would have from facing the league leaders.

Seeker Futera played a more direct route to goal, utilizing Federico Santana’s (10) height, with a few knock downs for Somsak Musikaphan almost resulting in good opportunities for the ‘Iron Horse’ (Seeker Futera).

Angthong only bothered the Seeker Futera defence with a few shots from range in the first half.  Seeker Futera’s more direct route caused problems, and there were calls from a penalty when talismanic striker Santana was brought down in the opposition box.  These were dismissed by the referee however, and Santana was left with an injury that meant he could not continue.

New signing Stephane was introduced to the action, and immediate comparisons were drawn with the Ivory Coast superstar Yaya Toure due to his physical build and powerful running style.

It would be the second half before Stephane would have an impact however, with a powerful run and shot which was deflected over the bar serving as a warning to Angthong FC of what was to come.

Angthong came closest to scoring first however.  After numerous free kicks in the first half that came to nothing, their first free kick in the second half came crashing back off the bar.

The Virtual Managers (VMs) had a decision to make at this point.  They could continue to play it safe against the league leaders and try to gain a respectable point, or they could be inspired by the belief that Chairman Apisit Chaleekul had in his players, and decide to attack.

Attacking proved to be an inspired choice, and within 5 minutes, Somsak Musikaphan / BALL (9) played Stephane in behind the defence and the big French – Cameroonian made no mistake with the finish.

Angthong FC clearly failed to do their scouting homework as they persisted with a  high defensive line for the whole match, despite Seeker Futera’s obvious pace up front.  While the talents of Stephane were unknown to most of us, the pace of Musikaphan and Nattaporn caused lots of problems throughout the game, as they have done in many previous matches.

The Virtual Managers were divided on what to do after the goal, and a vote resulted in a 50:50 decision, and Apisit Chaleekul had the deciding vote, opting to play on the counter attack.

The rest of the game was a valiant defensive performance, even when the referee added on a whopping 7 minutes of extra time, Seeker Futera stood strong.   Thierry Rostand said after the game, that he looked at Anfthong’s attack, and just said ‘No!’

5 minutes into injury time, the Iron Horse broke the defensive shackles, and Stephane broke clear of the defence again, beating the keeper to the ball, and then rolling the ball into an empty net to put the result beyond doubt.