Scott Cooper began his reign as coach of Port with a dull scoreless home draw with promoted Lamphun Warriors in Thai League 1 on Sunday night.
Cooper admitted afterwards that it was a disappointing result for the big spending club.
On the other hand, it was a good start for Lamphun, coached by former Port boss Dusit Chalermsan, in their first ever Thai League 1 match.
“It was a disappointing game for us as we had prepared for a win,” said Cooper.
“In the first 20 minutes, it looked really good for us. We had several chances to score but could not find the back of the net. That’s football.”
Port signed seven players in the close season including Brazilian striker Hamilton Soares and Thailand U23 midfielder Ben Davis, who is on a season-long loan deal from English League One side Oxford United.
Unfortunately, Hamilton could not play on Sunday due to sickness.
However, Cooper said Hamilton’s absence could not be used as an excuse for his team’s poor showing as the Warriors did well without several key players.
Port next meet PT Prachuap at PAT Stadium on Aug 26.
In Sunday’s other matches, Prachuap won 3-0 at newcomers Sukhothai and Chiang Rai United beat Police Tero 1-0.
Meanwhile, Thai League 1 side BG Pathum United have arrived in Japan to face Hong Kong’s Kitchee in the AFC Champions League last 16 round (the quarter-finals of the East zone) on Friday.
The winners in the one-off match at Urawa Komaba Stadium in Saitama will play in the quarter-finals on Aug 22.