Gaffer O’Reilly was forced into a few changes to the team which drew with the Saigon Raiders the week before. Man of the match Mick Condon was absent due to injury, making way for debutant Chris Byrnes who slotted into the right of the back 3. The man with SIFL’s greatest name, Flip Jacobs, started on the bench with a “pinky injury”. Saints captain Chris Grant had booked the occasion off weeks before, which handed the opportunity to Eden Kane to captain the team for the first time. Due to a debaucherous night on the town with infamous mate “Danny Booze”, Grant was unable to get the captain’s armband delivered to Kane as he woke up many miles from his gear bag. Toro Hinds, who had put a little too much strain on his knee in the weeks beforehand, was forced to withdraw, making way for Oisin Murphy to come back into the centre of midfield. Sean Boyle stepped back into nets. The only other change was Saints number 10 Jacob Spong, who appeared to have a new pair of socks with huge cuts on the calves. It’s believed that this approach helps to relieve calf strain which is brought on by having drinks the night before a league match.

Saints started brightly with some crisp passing and quickly got themselves into a creative rhythm. The back 3 were able to play a very high line, which suited Corkman Adrian Caroll’s dangerous left foot. The Saints management team were relieved to see that the beers he was drinking the night before with Spong did not affect his deadly over-the-top deliveries, which caused Japan problems from the get-go. Indeed the latter (Spong) was very close to opening the scoring in the 3rd minute when he caught a delightful cross from left-wing back Oscar Lorimer on a flying volley which had the Japan keeper at full stretch. The Saints continued with their positive start to the match, with Oisin Murphy, Gav and Tomas Fonseca providing plenty of energy in the engine room, which had the Japanese on the back foot for the entire first half – the Portuguese almost steering in a glancing header in the 9th minute. Only a minute later, the Saints had a huge penalty call turned down, when Jai Sharma was fouled on a spot that looked to be inside the box, but the referee was adamant it was outside, and awarded a free kick. Up stepped the young buck from South Armagh, Oisin Murphy, who walloped the ball off the underside of the crossbar and back out into play.

Saints continued to mount pressure, brought on from intelligent build-up play from the back and effective switching of the ball to create space for wing backs to cause trouble on opposite flanks. Notably, Kev Sull, who took his first Saturday night off in 4 years, was working hard putting out fires and linking up well with the Saints midfield. In the 19th minute, a huge opportunity presented itself to Sharma when he capitalised on a mistake, but was too nonchalant with the finish and the keeper saved Japan’s blushes. Lorimer was spotted exchanging words quickly afterwards with Zack Ibrahim (who was waiting on the bench) It’s not known what exactly was said, but it’s believed it was along the lines of “Bruv, if the 3 of us wasn’t fuckin zingin’ last night he wudda fckin scored tha, innit”

Saints were starting to make real inroads through the Japanese defence, time after time, helped by the fact that they only had 2 at the back for periods, with Chris Byrnes drifting towards Thao Dien at times. Oisin Murphy once again hit the crossbar before the team in white and orange finally broke the deadlock in the 28th minute. Fonseca was fouled in the box for a corner and up stepped Oisin Murphy who wasn’t going to miss the target on the 3rd attempt. You would never have guessed he was on the sauce the night before with the workload he produced in the first half. Half time – Saints 1 – 0 Japan. Odd moment of the half: Flip Jacobs being asked by the referee (in a pretty non-flippant way to be fair) to change his shorts??

During the halftime break, the Saints, although in a comfortable and confident mood, knew that they had been in this situation before during the season and the game was far from won. A few changes at half time saw Zack Ibrahim introduced up top in the place of his disco partner Jai. Toan and Hung brought some fresh legs to proceedings and the Saints began the second half in similar fashion to the first. Jacob Spong hit a curling effort wide after 10 minutes, and Zack with a few chances to put the game to bed, was eluded by resolute Japanese defending on a couple of occasions.

Midway through the second half, with Saints legs beginning to tire, Japan hit their best period of the match, spreading the ball wide and doing well with retaining possession. Adrian Carroll took this period by the scruff of the neck, and was a colossus on the left side of the back 3. The second debut of the day arrived in the shape of Tomas Bouan, and the Frenchman held his nerve well, clearing danger on a couple of occasions. Japan were held to very few clear cut chances and when the final whistle finally arrived, a hard-earned, 3 points brought the Saigon Saints’ frustrating streak to an end.

Moment of the second half: With the final whistle looming, Chris Byrnes decided to throw Japan a lifeline by dribbling the ball out of defence, losing it, and in a real heart-attack moment the loose ball was played through and Japan were in – only to be called (incorrectly) offside. In the end it didn’t matter as the shot was well saved by Sean Boyle, in a moment which perhaps has seen a welcome turn in fortune for the Saints as the season now reaches its final stretch.

Final Score: Saints 1-0 Japan.

For the quarter-finals, the Saints found themselves on a bigger stage versus recently-crowned league champions Sporting Saigon. Complete with a running track, ongoing construction and military officials, The (you guessed it) Military Stadium was a fitting location for the occasion, a setting much like you would see on grainy footage of a tricky away European qualifier. Captured perfectly in the recording of the game and its strangely 90s’ taint. The only thing missing was the floodlights being mysteriously cut by a shadowy betting syndicate.

A rare luxury playing on grass, but both teams would have to adjust to the ball holding up a little more. Or even, as Saints gaffer Conor O’Reilly emphasised in the pre-game team talk, pounce on any under-hit passes from your opponents. And pounce they did, with Sporting going 1-0 up in the first minute. Hoseni latching onto a through ball to slot home. A dream start for Sporting, having just about escaped with a 2-2 draw in their encounter ten days previous.

An in-form Saints had entered the game brimming with confidence, and it was shown to be built on firm ground with a swift equaliser seven minutes later. Oisin Murphy whipping in a peach, a pearler, a left-foot curler of a corner to the back post, where new signing, the talismanic Nathan Sitch, arrived to nod in his 4th goal in three games. Saints were on top, and on the 20-minute mark, Sitch again made the difference. Nutmegging one man to a standstill, ghosting past three more with his next touch, before kindly squaring the ball off the onrushing O’Brien for a tap-in for Chuck Marion.

The Sporting keeper was called into action again on two more occasions soon after, with Tomas Fonseca first setting up Toro before being denied himself by a smart save. But there was no stopping the third, Chis Grant’s corner a right-foot homage to the opener, this time emphatically headed home by Jai Sharma. The goalscorer making a beeline for the corner flag (doing a Fonseca), which he had earmarked as a celebratory prop upon arrival at the ground.

With their initial confidence shot, Sporting found themselves 3-1 down at the break and seemingly out of answers. They had rarely troubled the centre-half pairing of reformed ex-striker, secret left-back masquerading as a centre-half, Jacob Spong, and the experienced nous of Eden Kane. Adrian Carroll and Kevin Sullivan were as imperious as ever on either side at full-back. Gav Hartnett, Chris Byrnes and Oisin dominating the midfield throughout. But as must be in cup matches, it was far from over.

Early in the second half, a series of misfortunate events and a ricochet or two led the ball to Jordan’s shapely thigh, who dragged Sporting back into the game, unleashing a dipping volley that not a reporter in the world would save. With the grass pitch taking more out of the legs as the game wore on, both teams began to tire. Darren, Mick and Dec provided fresh impetus for the Saints, winning battles at both ends of the pitch. But Sporting had found a way back in and, with 18 minutes remaining, were level. Controversy struck during the celebrations as the Sporting goalscorer lashed out at Adrian Carroll over a diplomatic misunderstanding regarding the proprietary rights to the ball. Sporting down to ten men and lucky not to be at nine. Aido is expected to make a full recovery.

The remainder of normal time saw both teams probing, Sporting remaining threatening but Saints coming close through skipper Chris Grant and a late goalmouth scramble where a fully-recovered Adrian nearly capitalised.

Exciting stuff. Drama. Tense music. And that’s just the intro to the video below. But the game would be settled by penalties. And to add more than a sprinkle of farce, only after a 30-minute floodlight imbroglio and some top-level military discussions about turning the lights back on. When the penalties did eventually commence, it was a former Saint first up for Sporting, Dolly having scored from the spot at the death just over a week ago, this time struck the post.

Nathan, Oisin, Chuck and Chris kept their nerve, leaving Jacob to nonchalantly slide the fifth home and the Saints into the next round. The jubilant scenes following the game were in true 90s style, unceremoniously cut by the tricky European away qualifier’s TV producer, but the cup holders were through.

Just what age Jordi is was the subject of much debate this week, much to the Dutchman’s chagrin. As the youngest member of the veteran half of the squad, a heavy burden rests on young(?) Drietelaar’s shoulders to bring some youthful endeavour and, crucially, a lust for life sadly lacking among certain elements of a battle-hardened, motley 550-year-old crew.

Let’s look at some key battles ahead of Saturday’s grudge match.

Kit-factor Final 3

The biggest battle on Saturday takes place off the pitch, on the hallowed turf of The Local Saigon, as our favourite bar plays host to the final showdown and vote for this season’s away kit. Having negotiated their way through a quite frankly appalling collection of entries from numerous squad members, three hopeful kit designers in Mr. 15%, aka Keith Way, Scouse Waterfordian Dal O’Neill, and previous winner, Gaffer Conor O’Reilly, will see their creations modelled on the catwalk before a final and hopefully contentious squad vote.

The Ravages of Time

With club captain Chris Grant emerging largely unscathed from his twenties last month to bolster the over-30s, confidence is high among the veterans. However, a predictable slew of visa runs, injuries and work commitments has seen some key members fall by the wayside in recent days.

Nevertheless, Chris spearheads an attack that includes Alan ‘4 goals(?)’ Roche, Pablo ‘Paul’ Caulfield, and Jacob ‘Nosebleed’ Spong. The oldies look strong in midfield, with prodigal son Conn Kirby pairing up with breadwinner Chris Byrnes behind tricky Mancunian Irishman Dec Neill. At the back, five from a pool of six long-serving (suffering?) players 215 years young will look to gain any advantage allowed at the expense of naivety.

It goes without saying that the greatest battle these men will face is the ever-faster march of time, that and all the pre-game cigarettes, hangovers and other old-timey amateur football things.

The Folly of Youth

Ah, the folly of youth.

For the younger half of the squad, shorn of the leadership they occasionally listen to, a vacuum must be filled. Who will step up to the plate?

Perhaps Adrian Carroll, one of the few level heads in a young squad, can hold together the collection of young renegades. Aido will look nervously to referee favourites Dan Murphy and Mick Condon for support at the back, with Bailey offering a left-footed option and Howley hoping to put himself in the shop window for the over-30s.

An energetic midfield of Oisin, Darren, Gav and Zak will hope to press home the advantage of youthful speed and endeavour. However, with Zak having recently challenged two of his ageing opponents to a 2 a.m. race in which he came third(last), it may not be as straightforward as it sounds. It’s all part of the learning curve for these young hoodlums.

Toro and Nathan lead an exciting forward line alongside another referee-favourite, Jai Sharma, with club youth academy (sorry, Oscar), Minh, representing the even younger generation of Saint.

As some of you may have guessed, the greatest challenge for this young band of men is the naivete of youth.

Will they party too hard on Friday? Can they even handle matchday hangovers? Which one spark sets this tinderbox alight?

——————————————— Battle lines drawn. Major voting scandal imminent. Delicious post-game burritos ordered from La Fiesta.

Who wins? Experience vs. Youth

Let’s find out #whenthesaintsgomarchingin

Massive thanks to our sponsors for this season for their continued support:

Place in Saigon The Local Saigon ROOTS – Organic Store and Juice Bar Symposium Bar La Fiesta

You’d be forgiven for thinking we’d be in good nick after having a weekend free of Division 1 or 2 football, but with an injury list as long as their arm coming into this weekend’s doubleheader, the Saints were in crisis.

With only a small pool of players to choose from, understandably, priority was given to selecting as strong a squad as possible for Friday night’s Division 1 clash against fellow title challengers Sporting. The Saints enjoyed an explosive start to this top-of-the-table clash when Nathan Sitch scored the opener with a deft header after just 52 seconds. It came as a result of strong pressing by the Saints as Eoin Gannon won the ball high up the pitch and laid it on to Tomás Fonseca, nosso capitão then played a first-time lobbed through ball over the Sporting defence to find Sitch who was able to apply the finish.

As far as I’m aware the game ended after one minute and the Saints sit top of the league, still unbeaten… I wouldn’t pay any heed to those tales of a Sporting comeback and a late flurry of goals.. (redacted).

On to the next imminent trainwreck… By Wednesday of last week, there were just seven players available for the Sinners Division 2 clash against the Raiders on Saturday, one of which was to play in Friday’s game and would need a late fitness check. Questions were being asked… When did Conn Kirby move to Mui Ne!? Does Kev Sul work on Saturdays? Does anyone have a phone number for Craney or Connla Stokes!? It wasn’t looking good… But having been deprived of Saigon’s greatest derby for a couple of years, the Sinners were determined to find new recruits somewhere so the game could go ahead.

In the end, they turned to a familiar friend who had served them well in such crises before- the Saigon Gaels. They were able to sign up five lads from the newly crowned Asian hurling champions as well as long-time listener, first-time caller Adrian Gilligan. Tomás Fonseca and Alan Roche had survived Friday’s massacre and were able to play in Saturday’s derby.

The mood was relaxed as we met for the delayed kick-off under lights. Maybe there was a sense that expectations were low as half of the team didn’t know each other. “Are we playing this way or that way?” inquired one debutant while gesturing to the 7s and 11s pitches during the warmup. “I’m glad you asked before I did” responded another. We were well prepped.

As the gaffer Richie named out the starting lineup, I’d love to tell you that it was crystal clear to everyone listening that he had been up all night coming up with a master plan that would lead us to victory. But when he forgot to name any fullbacks, I got the feeling we weren’t the only ones hearing the team for the first time.

Teague was ‘named’ captain and would start in goal. The ever-vocal Christ Howley started at right back, while the only left-footer in the squad, Brian McDermott, debuted on the left. Glenn Connelly would provide guidance alongside the young rookie Mark Hickey at centre-back. In the middle of the park, the hurl-less Tony French and Joe Cuddihy were to provide the legs while Dominic could add some flair up ahead. With a front three of Alan Roche, Barry McGill, and Paul Caulfield, the Sinners’ attacking strategy was twofold:

1. GO
2. LONG

The Sinners started cautiously, trying to win their duels and cause havoc on the counterattack. When the Raiders put the ball in the net in the 9th minute following a botched clearance from Hickey, it looked like it was going to be a long night. Thankfully, the opener was ruled out for an apparent offside, the Sinners had got away with one. Perhaps their luck was changing.

As each minute passed the Sinners grew into the game more, Hickey was switched to right back where he could attack down the line and Howley filled in at centre-back where he excelled alongside Connelly. In attack, they realised they could get a lot of change out of this Raiders defence by pressing them high and they had their first big chance of the game in the 15th minute when Caulfield hit the post with a speculative half-volley following a poor clearance.

Halfway through the first half, the Sinners emptied the bench with Adrian Gilligan and Adam Carroll making their debuts while Saints regular Tomás Fonseca gave us a new creative outlet up front. The fresh legs almost had an instant impact as Fonseca’s press led to Roche intercepting a Raiders’ defender’s short pass. Roche nicked the ball past the defender and sped down the wing before squaring it back to Fonseca whose shot drew a magnificent save from the Raiders’ keeper.

By halftime, some of the Gaels’ WAGs had arrived and were cheering their men on from the sideline. The new Sinners were getting used to life without a hurl and French, Cuddihy, and Carroll had started to get a hold of the midfield, playing some nice, composed football as well as using a long ball option when needed.  McCauliffe’s team talk seemed more rehearsed at halftime, we were not here to fulfill a fixture or to hang on in this game, the win was there for the taking.

There was one change at the interval as Teague moved to right back and Mark Hickey stepped into nets. Both played their part in their new roles, Hickey showed superb reflexes to claim a loose ball on the goal line following a Raiders’ corner, and Teague’s set-piece deliveries were a constant threat throughout the second half. The Sinners thought they had the winner when one such delivery met the head of Joe Cuddihy in the 75th minute but it was to be another goal ruled out for an apparent offside.

The Sinners had had their chances to win the game, French found Caulfield with a lovely through ball only for the striker to blast wide. The linesman’s flag stayed down this time, an opportunity wasted. It looked like the game was destined to end as a stalemate as we entered stoppage time before the Sinners were awarded a penalty. It came following another terrific set-piece delivery from Teague, the Raiders’ keeper came for the cross and fumbled it, French pounced towards the loose ball,  the keeper missed his kicked clearance and instead brought French to the ground. Penalty to Sinners.

Unconcerned about his fallen teammate holding his crotch on the ground, Caulfield strolled past French to get his hands on the ball to take the spot kick. He stepped up and hit his shot hard and to the right. Although the keeper guessed the right way he couldn’t get a strong enough hand to it, “Richie! Richiiiee!!!” screamed the commentators inexplicably as it nestled in the top right corner. 1-0 to the Sinners.

The remaining two minutes saw the Raiders go Gung-ho in attack in search of an equaliser. They had all 11 players in the Sinners’ box for a corner but the team in green, brown, yellow, and black stripes were able to hold out for their first win of the season.

Full-time result in Division 2:

Saigon Sinners 1-0 Saigon Raiders