Sitsaman Academy

Sitsaman Academy was formed in 1998 and provides coaching and football for underage players to learn their skills and represent their club. It is based off Hathai Rat Road in Samwa District in the northeast of the Thai capital Bangkok.

The club boasts impressive facilities with two pitches, and a clubroom and outdoor area which includes a restaurant, and changing rooms, while snacks and drinks are also available along with club clothing.

My visit

Linping FC  2 Prize of Wood 3 (Sunday 27^th August 2023) Bangkok Premier League Division 1 (att: c10)

Linping moved this game a couple of miles south from their usual Airport Stadium base to the highly impressive Sitsaman Academy facility, which would cause confusion as three players arrived late having gone to the wrong ground, with them starting with ten men despite having a sub goalie sat doing nothing.

Unsurprisingly the away side went into the lead on thirteen minutes in the battle of two company-owned or sponsored sides. Xekphcn̒ Pho Khao skipped past a desperate lunging challenge from Piyachot Pholdee to round keeper Seri Rak Promraj and slot home. 

The goalie deflected another Pho Khao effort wide and then made an astonishing point-blank save from a powerful header from Tanzanian midfielder Michael Mgimwa. Pho Khao again rounded the stopper but skewed wide and missed another glaring opportunity.

His scattergun approach up front was made to pay when Linping levelled things up. A low free kick from Thatchawee Suwanpanya was fumbled by custodian Wanchana Songsi allowing Somnuk Promchan to tap home. 

The visitors fielded a second foreigner, the Kiwi Tristan Cooper while Nigerian Sheriff Adetoyinbo added overseas flair to the home team lineup. Eventually, Pho Khao found the target again with the last kick of the first half as his side went in 2-1 ahead.

After the interval, he continued to waste chances galore. His pace was often too much for the defence, but he dallied too often, as confidence seemed to drain out of him. Adetoyinbo forced a good save out of Songsi before away team skipper Peerapol Chinnarat reminded his forward how it should be done as he went through and finished neatly.

The otherwise impressive number 15 for Limping missed an opportunity, when Songsi, who is listed as a defender on the website, fumbled, which may have explained his lack of handling prowess. Adetoyinbo grabbed one back with around eight minutes to go but his side couldn’t claw back an equalizer. A game not always of the highest skill levels but is most entertaining.

I’d walked to the ground off Hathai Rat Soi 39 in the northeast of Bangkok, which took around an hour and, on the approach, saw a huge monitor lizard cross the lane up ahead of me. Like most pitches at this level, it had high netting surrounding it. The second pitch had kid’s games taking place.

Around the main pitch, there was open seating, two small covered elevated stands, covered dugouts, a few benches on the far side, floodlights, plus a gantry where a man put out sporadic announcements. A very tidy set-up indeed.

I was home within twenty minutes courtesy of one of the local small bus services with a few Thai-brewed beers from 7/11 to wash down the meal cooked by the beloved.