Hua Hin City win Orchid Palm Homes Cup VI

The sixth edition of the Orchid Palm Homes Cup took place at True Arena last Thursday. Six Under 13 teams participated and Hua Hin City came out on top after winning a dramatic penalty shoot out against Taptai.

During the group stages it rapidly became clear that Taptai and Hua Hin City were the two strongest teams. They both booked their spots in the semi final by winning two matches out of two to finish top of their respective groups.

In the first semi final Taptai were matched with HH Academy and prevailed 1-0 after a well worked free kick routine which benefitted from a slight deflection. Hua Hin City capitalized on a couple of defensive errors to run out as 3-1 winners over Black Mountain in their game.

The fifth and sixth playoff finished 1-1 and went to a penalty shoot out with Nong Hoi eventually beating Shark Boy. The third and fourth place playoff was settled in normal time with Black Mountain defeating HH Academy 1-0.

The final was a tense affair with Taptai enjoying the lion’s share of possession but struggling to create any clear cut chances against well organized opponents. It meant the destination of the winner’s trophy would be decided by penalties and Hua Hin City emerged victorious, converting all but one of their spot kicks.

Orchid Palm Homes owner Stephen Ayling was delighted to see so many different teams competing,

“It is good to see everything getting back to normal again after Covid-19 and to see more teams entering these tournaments. With so many penalty shoot outs this year it seems like the games are getting even more competitive and the children seemed to really enjoy themselves.”

Former England and Tottenham defender Gary Stevens, who is the head coach at Black Mountain, also enjoyed the day,

“The facilities here at True Arena are fantastic and it is really good for the children to have an opportunity to play competitively on such a good surface. There were some really close games and everyone is looking forward to the next edition of this tournament.”

--2022-10-17