Young Thai stars head to Japan for the title defence

Young Thai stars head to Japan for the title defence

By Lerpong Amsa-ngiam 
The Nation

Former national striker Piyapong Pue-on is determined to orchestrate a hat-trick win for his Thailand under-12 team in the Toyota International Junior Cup in Japan this coming weekend.

Thailand dominated the past two eitions which this year runs from September 15-17 at the Toyota Sports Centre.

“We have won the title for two years in a row. So we are going there to defend our title only,” said Piyapong, in charge of the udner-12 squad of players selected 24 players from the Toyota Junior Football Clinic project.

The team endured a roller-coaster ride of friendlies last week, winning 7-0 over Sacred Heart Convent School Bangkok on Monday at the Srisaman Football Club before being thrashed 10-1 by the under-13 team squad then posting a 6-2 win over PSW Futera Football Academy.

Toyota General Manager of Marketing (Commercial Vehicles) Bheema Hutchesson presents a certificate to a player.

“We used the warm-up matches to test the abilities of the boys and to decide who will make to the first line-up for the games in Japan,” said Piyapong.

“We tried to allocate the players in all those warm-ups, changed strategies and adjusted the attitudes of our players. After they learnt a great experience from their predecessors in the second game, they showed improvement in the last game and impressively adopted techniques and attitudes, “ Piyapong added.

Striker Assada Homhuan from Phuket is the name to look out for in Japan, having emerged the top scorer with five goals from the three games, including a hat-trick in the final game against PSW Futera Football Academy.

Eight teams from Japan, Vietnam and Thailand will compete for the Toyota International Junior Cup this weekend. 

Players show their certificates.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/sports/30354164

 

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