In scenes of unprecedented drama, the Stormtroopers overcame the tension of a golden goal shoot out to capture their first trophy on foreign soil defeating local Thai side, iPlay, in the CUKI Ramada Cup ‘Plate’ Final.

They say 24 hours is a long time in sport and so this proved to be the case. At lunchtime on Day One with no wins and no goals scored, the Stormtroopers sat bottom of their qualifying group and were ranked the worst performing amongst 5 Sports Beijing teams on tour in Bangkok. One day and 5 victories later the team emerged as the sole Beijing winners of silverware in an amazing turnaround in fortunes.

On paper things had looked promising, there was the Arsenal team and ISC from Malaysia in the tournament but with age and physical size on their side the Stormtroopers surely had a great chance. What we did not account for were the conditions. We knew there would be grass, but tiny pitches and tiny goals over 15 minute games ? It was to prove a devastating combination as in game after game the Stormtroopers natural advantages were easily neutralized by smaller opponents able to defend en masse.

Game One vs CUKI was a disaster. Still asleep in typical fashion, the Stormtroopers were simply unable to adjust to the new conditions against a weak side. On 8 minutes CUKI took the lead and despite Luc hitting the post and blazing twice wide and two Jordan free kicks narrowly off target it was an early unexpected defeat.

Final Score: CUKI 1-0 Stormtroopers

Game Two against RSC Harimou also failed to go to plan. Despite dominating the game and Sam seeing a header come back off the crossbar we simply couldn’t get the breakthrough required and the game ended scoreless.

Final Score: RSC Harimou 0-0 Stormtroopers

Game Three against Arsenal was somewhat predictable. A defensive slip on 3 minutes gave Arsenal the lead but from then onwards the Stormtroopers hit back. We deserved an equalizer. Nathan had a free kick saved. Luc had a shot cleared off the line but when Arsenal broke away to score their second the Stormtroopers totally lost the plot. In a disappointing display of blame and emotional outbursts then team simply fell apart. Whilst we did so Arsenal scored twice more to claim a flattering 4-0 win.

Final Score: Arsenal 4-0 Stormtroopers

Qualification now depended on a vast improvement - and an ability to score goals. Fortunately, in Game  Four against iPlay the Stormtroopers at last delivered a quality performance. Linus had been in fine form down the left and it was his quick throw that found Tommy loose in the box. He was able to turn and shoot to give the Stormtroopers the lead. The team poured forwards stringing together several neat moved often involving Alex who was terrific off the ball down the right. Goal two arrived courtesy of another speciality free kick from Jordan who struck from distance past the diving iPlay keeper.

Final Score: iPlay 0-2 Stormtroopers

Game Five against Active Kidz A was more of the same. With confidence restored the Stormtroopers were totally dominant in a fine attacking display. Despite numerous efforts from the likes of Haydn and Linus goals though were hard to come by. The game was eventually settled when Jordan rose at the far post to head home Nathan’s pinpoint corner.

Final Score: Active Kidz ‘A’ 0-1 Stormtroopers

Day Two:

There had been confusion overnight on the qualification situation but news finally emerged that despite the last two victories, by the slim margin of one goal, the Stormtroopers were eliminated from the Cup and instead would spend Day Two challenging for the Plate. And what a blessing that would turn out to be.

The Quarter Final pitted the Stormtroopers against younger opponents from the Active Kidz ‘B’ team. The team carried on where they had left off the night before stringing together a concerted barrage of attacks. Luc grabbed his first from a corner before smashing home a fine second on 10 minutes. Haydn completed a fine victory with a nice goal from a wide angle.

Final Score: Active Kidz ‘B’ 0-3 Stormtroopers

After a long delay, finally the Semi Final against RSC Harimou got underway with the Stormtroopers once again launching wave after wave of attack on their opponents goal. Nathan and Alex rained in shots but it was Luc, by now back to his effervescent best who struck twice to give the Stormtroopers what seemed to be a comfortable lead. With 5 minutes to play, RSC pulled one back with a freak goal that lobbed past Sam from distance to set up a tense last few minutes. But the defence of Jacob and Linus held firm to put the Troopers through to the plate final

Final Score: RSC Harimou 1-2 Stormtroopers

The Plate Final is a game that will long last in the annals of Stormtrooper history. Shakespeare himself would have done well to recreate the drama that was to unfold at the end of a turgid game in which neither iPlay nor the Stormtroopers could really come to terms with. After several strong performances the Stormtroopers froze in early stages of this final seemingly with feet in wet cement. Despite honest endeavour the closest we came was when Haydn fired over. Full time arrived with the game goal-less. Time for the dreaded golden goal shoot out. iPlay had already defeated the SuperSnakes this way earlier in the day - surely lightning couldn’t strike twice ? Luc, Sam and Nathan lined up to take on iPlays best as the tension mounted. It looked all over when the referee dubiously awarded iPlay a free kick inside our penalty area for a back pass but Luc snuffed out the danger. One minute gone and we were down to 2 v 2. Sam burst through - surely it was going to be a trademark Sam goal - but no - somehow the iPlay keeper kept it out. iPlay broke upfield, but once again we retrieved the ball. After an argument about a throw, Sam tried to get it through to Nathan who had an open goal in a wide position but the pass was overhit, there was no way he could reach it.....but fortunately Nathan has very long legs and as he slid in, he somehow connected and deflected the ball into the empty net. It was all over - 1-0 Stormtroopers ! - team mates flooded onto the pitch, parents attempted to recover their composure and Nathan was buried somewhere at the bottom of a pile of bodies -  incredible drama !

Final Score: iPlay 0-1 Stormtroopers

Verdict: What a weekend ! We plunged the depths of despair and then scaled the heights of joy - and all exactly as predicted by our resident clairvoyant, Adam Robarts. If we had played to our potential in earlier games then we would have made the semi finals of the cup. But we would have gone home disappointed for we are far from the match of Arsenal (champions at almost every age group) or the Malaysians. For once fate dealt us a kindly hand. By one goal we were dropped into the Plate - and in that competition we had no equal. The final should have been tucked away earlier in the game - but sport brings pressure and tension. The way our players dealt with that pressure was admirable - and so much more impressive a character trait than we had witnessed following the Arsenal defeat debacle. Life lessons aplenty for one and all.......