Three seasons after City competed for the Japan Cup after the 1980-81 season was over the Sky Blues were again in South East Asia playing games in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Though Manager Gordon Milne was still in charge for the overseas games Dave Sexton would take over the ‘gaffer’s chair’ for the season to follow.
The Sky Blues travelling party for these fixtures was:-
the late Les Sealey, Jim Blyth, Mick Coop, Danny Thomas, Brian Roberts, Gary Gillespie, Paul Dyson, Ray Gooding, Andy Blair, Steve Hunt, Peter Bodak, Mick Ferguson, Mark Hateley, Garry Thompson, Gerry Daly, Tom English, Steve Whitton and Garry Bannister. Those who later went on to join CCFPA are underlined.
City had drawn the first game in the tour on May 16th, against a Thailand XI, 2-2 in Bangkok on 16th May (Paul Dyson and Andy Blair scored). On this day (23rd May) in 1981 our opponents were a Selangor XI in a game played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the Sky Blues narrowly came out on top 1-0 with a goal scored by CCFPA member Tommy English.
Sadly, little in the way of detail is known about this match.
City went on to play six more games on the tour against a South Korea team in Hong Kong and several Indonesian teams in that country. See later posts for details of these games on the day they were played!