THEY have played football against a Vietnamese team in Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City and they are planning to go to Hanoi for a second trip next year.

No, they are not the Singapore Lions. They are members of the Darts Soccer Club - this week's Weekend Warriors.

Thanks to their Vietnamese striker Richard Nguyen, an 11-a-side match with the Vietnamese Police Force of District 1 Ho Chi Minh City, was arranged in August this year.

'A friend of mine is in the Vietnamese Police Force, so I suggested to him that we have a friendly and he agreed to gather his team-mates,' said the 25-year-old who has been playing for Darts Soccer Club since 2006.

Nguyen is a student in Singapore and has been here for six years.

'From there, I just told the Darts' team captain, Vincent Chua, about it and he arranged plane tickets and accommodation for 20 of us to go over for the four-day trip. Some players even brought their families along.'

The trip to Vietnam had been planned even before the friendly match was set up. They had been scheduled to fly to Ho Chi Minh City on 8 Aug to attend the wedding of team member Calvin Poh, who married his Vietnamese girlfriend there.

'The customary wedding celebrations took place the night before the friendly match. The next day at around 5pm, I went to the stadium to play,' said Poh, who has been with the Darts Soccer Club, formed 15 years ago.

Wedding gift

Poh had the perfect wedding gift from the team as the Darts won the match 2-1 on 9 Aug - Singapore's National Day.

National serviceman Tay Yong Meng, who is the youngest player in the team at 20, recalled scoring the equaliser.

'We were one goal down and I scored the equaliser. The next thing I know, we had won the match.'

Tay, who is also a part-time MediaCorp Channel 8 actor, joked: 'I remember being a little bit scared because the Vietnamese Police Force players didn't smile much. I didn't want to be thrown in jail for winning you know?'

But Tay admitted that his fears were unfounded and that the match turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Nguyen may have had no qualms about playing and beating his fellow Vietnamese but there is no mistaking where his loyalties lie.

He was wearing the Vietnam national team's football jersey when The New Paper went to Sports Planet East Coast for the interview.

'I watched Vietnam play against Singapore for the AFF Suzuki Cup first-leg semi-final and they were really good. After beating Singapore in the second leg, the rest of the Darts team will now give me a hard time for it,' laughed Nguyen.

Bantering is common within the team despite the players' ages ranging from 20 to 45.

Chua, an accounts support manager, said: 'As captain, I always try to organise activities that will bring the team closer.'

Paintball

Aside from playing friendly matches in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, the Darts Soccer Club also play paintball in Batam, celebrate special occasions and have regular drinking sessions after playing football or futsal together.

Whenever time permits, they extend their stay after friendly matches overseas and bring their families along for holiday trips.

Even their wives have come to know each other so well that they have organised their very own regular mahjong sessions.

'That benefits the married men in the team because it means more time for football and futsal,' said a laughing Chua.

Although the core members of the Darts Soccer Club no longer play competitively in the Division 3 National Football League like they used to, they still take their football and futsal sessions seriously.

Andy Gan, the 41-year-old defender for the Darts Soccer Club, is in charge of booking the futsal pitch for the team every Saturday. He revealed that they have already made their pitch bookings till the end of next year.

'Every Saturday from 2pm to 4pm, we will turn up to play futsal here without fail,' said the shipping executive.

'Afterwards, the Darts will go to Vincent's place, which is walking distance from here, to hang out. That's our routine.'

But whether they play in Singapore or overseas, one thing comes first.

As Nguyen said: 'No matter where we play or which team we play against, the most important thing is that we go as a team and have fun together like a family.'

That's Darts Soccer Club for you, the regional travelling Warriors with a special Vietnamese connection.

• To know more about Darts Soccer Club, visit their website www.dartssc.com or email them at vincent@dartssc.com

Nguyen happy with his country's show

WHEN the Lions lost to Vietnam 1-0 in the second-leg semi-final of the AFF Suzuki Cup 11 days ago, all of the Darts Soccer Club members despaired - except for Richard Nguyen.

Nguyen, the only Vietnamese player in the team, was watching the tense match on television with his family.

He said: 'I was actually in Hanoi during the game so I could not go to the National Stadium in Singapore to support the Vietnam national team.'

'We may not have been at the stadium to catch it live but we were just as ecstatic after the win.'

Some of Nguyen's team-mates contacted him from Singapore shortly after the game ended.

But contrary to his belief, they were not out to give him a hard time.

'Thankfully, I won't get whacked by the rest of the team when I get back because they all agreed that Vietnam deserved to be in the final,' said Nguyen laughing.

The Darts Soccer Club captain Vincent Chua, who earlier predicted a 2-0 win for Singapore, was resigned to the loss.

But he couldn't resist jibing his team-mate.

'We won't let Richard play in our team after this,' said Chua jokingly.

AISHAH HAMZA