At
a similar stage last season we travelled to Ayutthya to play the league
leaders, PEA. At the time we were three points behind, in second place. That match
ended in a draw and we were unable to overtake them in the few games that
followed. It would be nice to think that we've learned from that experience and
can go to The Thunderdome tomorrow and return with maximum points. We certainly
have the personnel, and Zico has shown in recent weeks (in league matches
anyway) that he has worked out how best to employ the players at his disposal.
Putting
aside the two cup disappointments, I felt that our display at Nakorn Pathom
last weekend was our best in a long time. The players showed a desire and a
determination that I believe has been missing for large parts of the campaign.
Their timing is perfect as the match against Muang Thong will be our toughest
test yet. The home side have quality, and depth, in every department and will
be keen to show the whole country that their victory against us earlier in the
year wasn't a fluke. That defeat still haunts me and I hope that our boys will
do everything they can to wipe that miserable wet evening at the godforsaken
Nong Prue "Stadium" from memory.
They
certainly have the ideal platform on which to perform. An all ticket crowd of
15,000+ and a sizeable Thai television audience will be supplemented by a
number of people watching on a giant screen, which has been erected outside the
stadium for those unlucky souls who couldn't get a ticket but want to be there
on the day. This is easily the biggest domestic game in recent Thai football
history and has already commanded a lot of newspaper column inches and the
internet is buzzing with the pre-match hype.
It
isn't only the football that has generated talking points. Indeed the venue
itself has been the subject of a lot of discussion. At one stage it looked like
the game would be moved to Supachalasai in order to cope with the demand and
the large numbers expected. However, the home team have built a new stand
(seemingly out of Meccano) in record time and are assuring everyone that they can
deal with the occasion.
Ticketing
too has been a hot topic. Muang Thong have been selling advance tickets for the
past few days but have held back 3,000 which will go on open sale from 11:00am
on match day. Chonburi's official allocation was 1,500 but I expect that two or
three times that number of fans will make the trip. I'm keeping my fingers
crossed that everything goes smoothly tomorrow. Thai football can't afford to
get this wrong. A lot of people will be watching so let's hope that all they
are talking about afterwards is the quality of football currently on offer in
the TPL.
The match will be televised live on NBT Channel 19. Coverage starts at 4:30pm. Kick off is at 5:00pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment