He has only played two games of football for Melbourne Victory, but Thai international Surat Sukha is already making an impression on the Hyundai A-League and he believes his best is yet to come.
He has only played two games of football for Melbourne Victory, but Thai international Surat Sukha is already making an impression on the Hyundai A-League and he believes his best is yet to come.
The diminutive defensive utility came on for his first appearance in a Melbourne Victory shirt as a second-half substitute against Brisbane in Round 2. He then played all 90 minutes in Saturday’s 1-0 win over North Queensland, impressing in the second half.
The 27-year-old, who is the first Thai player to make an appearance in the Hyundai A-League, loves his new location, even if it is a little colder that what he is used to back home.
“I’m really loving it here,” he said through a translator. “It’s great to be able to play football in such a good competition and with such good people. My team-mates have been great.”
As a measure of the level of change Sukha has had to adapt to over the past two months, Bangkok is expecting a top of 34 degrees on Tuesday, while Melbourne is expected around 15 degrees and storm force winds of over 100kmh. Perhaps it was appropriate that his first start came in the warmer climate of Townsville.
But it is not the weather or his limited English which is causing him the most trouble. The hardest thing for Sukha to adapt to has been the tempo of the Hyundai A-League, which he said is much faster than he encountered when playing for Chonburi.
“It’s very fast and that’s going to take some time to get used to. The ball moves very quickly and it means you need to think quicker and act quicker,” he said.
Melbourne has been forced to fast-track Sukha’s progression into the team with central defender Kevin Muscat injured and Matthew Kemp missing the match against the Fury because he wife was about to give birth.
After a difficult first-half against North Queensland, where he was booked and looked under pressure, Sukha began to adjust well to his role at right back late in the game.
“It just takes time. I guess I have to be patient, but I want to be at my best straight away. I felt as through the first half was very tough, but once I got my confidence up, I was able to play much better,” he said.
If his rate of improvement continues, the likable defender could be set to make an even bigger mark on the competition.
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