AES Moonlight

 

AES Moonlight FC is an amateur football club in the Thai capital of Bangkok who were originally called Lucid Dreams AES in 2020 playing home games at Airport Stadium in Division 5 of the Bangkok Premier League.

AES is a Bangkok based engineering company that sponsored the club which then became part of the Thonburi City FC club playing as a second side in Division 3 of the same competition. In July 2022 the club changed its title from Thonburi City AES to AES Moonlight. 

Owner Sorawit Pop Sueyouyong decided that they should become independent once again with many home games shifted to Grakcu Stadium in Sai Mai as the club competed in the Thai FA Cup in the 2021-22 season, hammering TK Academy in the Qualifying Round.

The club continued to play in the Bangkok Premier League until the end of the 2023-24 season. From September 2024 they played in the Greenfield Super League.

My visits

Camp 1001/Greenkeeper

Thonburi City SEA 4 SPA Srongpol 0 (Sunday 24th April 2022) Bangkok Premier League Division 3 (att: c25) 

A 6pm fixture up Hathai Rat Road was just the job for Steve Walker and I to take in some football after I had dropped off my laptop for repairs at Fashion Island Mall and some food before we commandeered a taxi.

The match was played at the home ground of Srongpol, which AES also used, with the main issue at night of Camp 1001 being the number of mosquitos owing to its location by greenery and water. We applied plenty of repellent on a hot sticky night.

We received the usual friendly welcome from the Srongpol guys who were the first team I had seen in action after moving full-time to Bangkok when they gave me a training shirt as a welcome gift. Not something I can imagine happening in England.

We were treated to a reasonable game at a tightly enclosed venue I had grown to like. To be honest we expected an easy AES victory after seeing SPA take a proper drubbing in Nong Chok against AUU Dream Team earlier in the month.

As it transpired Srongpol had become more organised and put up a decent show, though goals from Panupong Chanhom, Metha Sirisuwansit, Kittipong Sunarak, and Phumiphat Exists made the 4-0 score about right.

Post-match we decided to need to seek out The Craft House for which I had been given a tip when visiting a bar on Seri Thai Road. Craft beer was indeed available in cans and bottles with a decent range to choose from.

It was a sensible visit on this occasion, with prices being at the higher end of the scale but we vowed to return to the establishment on Thai Raman Alley, which we did after a game a mile or so north a few weeks later. Now that was a long and expensive do!

Grakcu Stadium

AES Moonlight 6 TK Academy 2 (Wednesday 28th September 2022) Thai FA Cup Qualification Round (att: 50) 

The early stages of the FA Cup through up some interesting ties spread over two consecutive Wednesdays. Having looked through my options and knowing I was picking my pal Jarvo up from Suvarnabhumi that evening I wanted something relatively local.

This game at Grakcu Stadium, hired by Moonlight for the occasion, fitted the bill perfectly. I had seen Moonlight in action a few weeks earlier at Alpine Football CampTraining but didn’t realise they were previously known as Thonburi City AES earlier in the year when my mate Steve and I saw them take on SPA Srongpol. 

My van driver was a bit on the tetchy side, so I ended up getting out far too early along Ram Inthra necessitating a walk to Wat Phra Sri Mahathat BTS station where a free sky train ride took me to Saphan Mai.

A songthaew took me in the right direction thanks to helpful locals with me walking the final twenty minutes to arrive with the teams ready to take the pitch. Admission was free and I took up a place in the far stand with the visiting entourage from Nakhon Ratchasima. 

The pitch was boggy from the outset and cut up badly as the match proceeded leading to plenty of errors from both sides and an entertaining encounter. In the early exchanges, the “home” player Kittiiphong Areerak had a shot easily saved by Chanayut Tosanthia.

Manuchet Wansa looked strong down the right for AES from the off as did Damrong Aiemdang up front. Areerak set up Wansa who should have scored but fired over in a good position. Despite their good start, it was TK Academy who took the lead.

An innocuous free kick from skipper Kritsada Phinsanthia found Teerapong JomKor at the back post who controlled and scored with his shot taking a slight deflection on the way past custodian Kittin Uttsan on eleven minutes.

Moonlight responded as Sathian Rairat saw his shot from long range saved. The young academy lads were holding a good defensive line but were lacking in physical strength which would be their undoing when Wansa was too quick and strong as he latched onto a through ball to restore parity after swapping to the left, in a game changing move.

He put his side ahead a couple of minutes later before the half-hour mark when his strong low shot was too powerful for Tosanthia. A fine move extended the lead when a crossfield ball by Wansa picked out Rairat who fed Komin Samadpattanakit whose low cross was controlled and smashed home by Aiemdang.

The generally unconvincing Tosanthia made a decent save to deny Samadpattanakit before TK responded with both Apichart Chinsranot and then Annop Meephu with a free kick. At the interval, I popped to the Grakcu shop for a beer where their academy coaches were preparing to welcome graduates on the second pitch. 

Wansa completed his hattrick three minutes after the restart when too strong for his marker before finishing cooly. The Academy contingent around me seemed resigned to their fate, but I guess they could take pride in competing in the competition.

Referee Thapana Thaworn played an excellent advantage to allow a move to continue with Samadpattanakit being denied by the feet of Tosanthia. Senior visitor Phinsanthia saw a free kick pushed onto the angle of the post and bar by Uttsan as his side continued to rally.

It became 5-1 when more good football ended in a cutback from Areerak for Wansa to smash home his fourth of the afternoon in the gloom after sixty-seven minutes. Aiemdang hit the frame of the goal with Wansa seeing his shot saved from the rebound as the pressure continued.

The sixth Moonlight goal was an absolute belter from all of thirty yards when a dipping swerving thunderbolt from Rairat beat Tosanthia all ends up. TK gained a consolation eight minutes from time through a fine JomKor effort. 

At full time I somehow managed to squeeze onto a songthaew out on the main road back to the BTS before chaos ensued when I alighted. There was a queue for the bus, so when a 95 arrived I was happy to get on board. Only to realise it didn’t go to Minburi but it cut off down Nawamin Road.

A taxi took me the rest of the way through murderous traffic leaving me time for a quick change and shower, a beer at my favourite local bar, prior to taking a taxi to the airport to greet my friend and then get stuck into a proper session. A grand day out.