2024 promised so much but delivered so little for the Thailand Tigers. After being beaten at home on ANZAC Day they flew to Siem Reap for ICC and almost took their revenge, beating Cambodia and drawing with Vietnam who went on to win the cup. They then lost in the final of the Asian Champs by a kick before the Sabretooths were beaten in the final of the Phuket Masters. It was the Serpents who finally put some silverware in the cabinet with the historic first win in the Asia Cup but the Thailand Tigers wanted some of their own. They sensed that the 2025 IndoChina Cup would be their best chance. 

The venue was PTT Stadium in Rayong and what a venue it was. Air conditioned changing rooms, cushioned seats on the substitutes bench and a lush, flat playing field ensured the players were well compensated for making the two hour trip from Bangkok. Rain threatened all day but never came, and a cool wind circled the stadium. It was a delightful day for footy.

The Cambodia and Vietnam women’s teams played first, with several of the Tigers Cubs having a run for an under-strength Vietnam side. The Cubs did themselves proud but Vietnam were heavily beaten. Then everyone watched as the Cambodian Men’s team took apart Vietnam. Vietnam had several players miss the flight over so they too had some ring-ins from the Cubs, but Vietnam has long been the strongest team in Indochina. Cambodia put a big question mark on that as they ran all over them in a dominant performance. Cambodia kicked eight goals just in the first half, Vietnam only managed three, and to make matters worse for them one of their best players dislocated his shoulder in the first half.  We all knew Cambodia was on the rise but that game showed just how far they had come. The Tiger’s mission suddenly looked a lot more difficult.

The Tigers women played next and they fought hard against a Vietnam team full of big, strong women. There was only a goal between the teams at half time but Vietnam pulled away in the third, kicking three goals. It was that quarter that won it for Vietnam, each other quarter was close. The Tigers’ hopes of repeating the Serpents Asia Cup glory took a huge dent.

Up next was the big game between Thailand and Cambodia. If the Tigers lost the Indochina Cup would be Cambodia’s for the first time. The Tigers knew what they were up against though and Hasto had hatched a plan. There were two keys to victory;  shut down the centre and shut down Borey. Hooey was given that job. He did it with aplomb. 

Right from the first bounce the Tigers came out roaring. Mani and Hasto swarmed the Cambodian crummer, won possession and sent it up forward. It fell for Pez who snapped the first goal with less than a minute on the clock. What a start. The Tigers were ferocious. Hooey crunched one poor Cambodia midfielder who strayed too far forward. Mani threw himself into every contest and Hasto sprinted to every crumb with an intensity that was infectious. Cambodia, who had the ball on a string against Vietnam were quite simply overwhelmed, they couldn’t get their hands on the ball. The Tigers outscored them four goals to two in the first half and most notably, Borey hadn’t kicked a goal yet. Hooey had seen to that.

The second half played out the same. Sammo kicked his second and Mani kicked the first of his many long-range goals. How good it was to see the captain leading from the front, fully backing himself and using that enormous boot of his to stretch the Tigers lead. The game opened up in the final quarter and both teams scored more easily, the Tigers kicking three to the Eagles two. The winning margin was twenty three points.

After a friendly match between the Thailand Serpents and the Barbarians came the less friendly final women’s match. Cambodia were the favourites to win the Asian Cup last year but were shocked by Thailand in the final so were out for revenge. Unfortunately for our girls they got it. It was a rout, with Cambodia keeping the Tigers goalless throughout and kicking seven goals nine. The Tigers were brave but just couldn’t match the experience and accuracy of the Cambodian side who have many years of training and competitions under their belts. 

And so came the final. Any of the three teams could win it. For the Tigers it was simple, win the match and take the cup. Vietnam needed to win by six goals and all Cambodia could do was watch from the sideline and hope. The Tigers made another great start, kicking four goals and three behinds in the first quarter and keeping the Swans goalless. In the second quarter the Tigers had to show their mettle. All day the subs bench had been running smoothly, with the likes of Muppet, Skinny, Jonno and Rutty tagging in to give the front-line players some rest. In the second quarter the bench was really tested as the Tigers were struck down with several injuries in quick succession. Welby, playing his 50th match came off with a knee injury, key defender Coyote hobbled off with a torn hammy minutes later and young guns Mani and Kai both took spells on the sideline with serious knocks. But the Tigers did not falter. Their scoring slowed down but they kept the bigger, stronger Swans side at bay. Hooey kicked three in the final and one was a goal to remember. Breaking out of half back he took possession near the middle of the ground, ran it to the right and roosted a giant of a kick forty five meters for a goal that must have broken the Swannies hearts. The Swans finally outscored the Tigers in the final quarter but the game was won by then, and in a fairytale finish it was young Max who kicked the final goal for the Tigers, getting on the end of a pass from Pez in the goal square and slotting it through. The final hooter blew, the crowd surged onto the field and for the first time in a decade the Tigers had won the Indochina Cup. 

The day was filled with memorable moments. There was Wu-Two almost spewing during the warm up, Benz and Hooey both winning the Best Player Award for their competitions and Joffrey lifting the cup with his newborn daughter, finally tasting Indochina glory after so many years of dedicated travel to play in the beloved Tigers jumper. But of all those moments, none was more memorable than the sight of Welby and J-Mac, two dedicated servants of the Tigers, being carried from the field by their teammates. They deserved nothing less, as few could claim to have done more for the Thailand Tigers football club this decade. It was a fairytale come true and a memory that both men will surely treasure. 

Men’ s competition	Women’ s competition
Cambodia (10.11.71) defeated Vietnam (3.8.26) Thailand (9.2.56) defeated Cambodia (5.3.33) Thailand (9.10.64) defeated Vietnam (5.3.33) Winners – Thailand Best Player – Damien Hoo (Thailand) Best Indigenous Player – Valor (Cambodia) Top Goal Scorer (9) – Borey (Cambodia)	Cambodia (13.13.91) defeated Vietnam (1.0.6) Vietnam (9.4.58) defeated Thailand (4.7.31) Cambodia (7.9.51) defeated Thailand (0.1.1) Winners – Cambodia Best Player – Benz (Thailand) Best Indigenous Player-Lak (Cambodia) Top Goal Scorer (19) – Touch (Cambodia)