Sunday 16th March 2025 - 16:00pm Thailand / 09:00am GMT - TSP - NT Stadium
Futera United kicked off their 2025 Thailand Semi-Pro campaign with three points after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Police Ladkrabang in an enthralling game at the NT Stadium.
In stifling conditions, Futera started with three debutants—Ninja, Aon, and Win—as they looked to improve on last season's third-place finish. Inside two minutes, excellent build-up play involving two of the new recruits, Ninja and Aon, allowed Beale to produce a sharp turn in the box, but his fierce drive was well saved by the Ladkrabang keeper. Futera were full of confidence, moving the ball with real intent. Captain Jew, playing at centre-back, produced a sublime diagonal ball that found Aon, who surged into the box before his cross was deflected onto the home team’s crossbar.
Futera were now dominating the home side, with Beam and Phu on both flanks causing problems with their direct running, and the impressive Tewit creating a formidable defensive shield in the midfield holding role. In the 16th minute, Phu escaped down the right flank, and his low, hard cross was almost inadvertently sliced into his own net by the Ladkrabang centre-back, the ball missing the far post by inches. From the resulting corner, Beam’s pinpoint delivery was met by a powerful header from Win, which rattled the crossbar, leaving the keeper helpless.
In the 26th minute, with Futera seemingly in total control, the unthinkable happened. Ladkrabang, who had rarely threatened, took an unlikely lead. Some calamitous defending from Futera allowed the Ladkrabang forward to skip past two challenges before Win clumsily bundled him over for a penalty. From the resulting spot-kick, Film was unlucky, just unable to keep the ball out as the home team took a 1-0 lead.
Futera roared back, dominating possession, and were back on level terms in the 40th minute. A raking ball from Jew found Phu on the right flank, and his sublime first touch left the Ladkrabang full-back for dead, allowing him to run in on goal before unleashing a powerful right-footed shot that flew into the top of the net, past the bewildered keeper. Moments later, the referee blew for half-time, with the teams tied at 1-1.
After such an impressive first half, there was a real buzz of excitement from the traveling Futera fans, who were expecting goals and three points from the second half. A minute into the restart, a poor kick from the Ladkrabang goalkeeper was intercepted by Phu, who ghosted into the box before the keeper made amends with a fine save. It seemed like the second half would follow the same pattern as the first, but credit to Ladkrabang, who began to dominate proceedings, forcing Futera to sit very deep. From dominating the ball in the first half, Futera now couldn’t keep hold of it, and the home side were much the better team. After a strong first-half display, Win was substituted, and Seagame entered the fray, with Tewit moving back into the back four.
For all their possession, Ladkrabang created very few clear-cut opportunities, with a speculative shot from distance the nearest they came to breaking the deadlock. With a weary-looking Futera seemingly happy to settle for a point, they were handed a gift in the 84th minute. Once again, poor distribution from the home side’s keeper was pounced on by the outstanding Phu, who glided past two defenders before being crudely fouled by the Ladkrabang centre-back for a stonewall penalty. Bas, the coolest man on the pitch, stepped up and calmly fired home, much to the joy of the ecstatic Futera fans. Futera played out the last five minutes with little concern and came away with a valuable three points after a 2-1 win.
At the end of the day, a win is a win, and the three points are the most important thing. However, the second-half performance was incredibly poor. After such an outstanding first half, where some of our play was exceptional—with Aon, Beam, Aek, and Phu all shining—it seemed like all our old demons returned in the second half. We played deep and continually allowed the ball to be turned over. What also worried me was that we seemed incredibly leggy in the second half, with a real lack of energy and intensity. Still, at the end of the day, we take the three points, look at the positive displays, and go again next Saturday. With only six games, it was vital we didn’t lose our opening fixture, and this win sets us up nicely to have a real go at this division this season. Obviously, we need to improve on the second-half performance, but I believe we have the ability—our first-half display proved this—to be real contenders this season.
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