Muang Thong Utd 1-2 Chonburi - Match Report by Greg Hill: 2011

TPL

Muang Thong Utd 1-2 Chonburi

Thunderdome, Nonthaburi

25th December, 2011

Match Report
by Greg Hill
And it was all going so well. OK, so Santa ignored my wishes and didn't drop any of the TTM Pichit cheerleaders in my stocking but then I wasn't very good this year anyway. But a general atmosphere of festive cheer and a bright start by the home side had everything looking rosy.

The starting line up of Kawin (GK), Kayem (LB), Panupong (CB), Nattaporn (CB, capt), Ali (RB), Pitchipong (MD), Datsakorn (MD), Buntao (MD), Dagno (AM), Fowler (CF), and Teerasil (ST) looked fresh and produced a fantastic system of attacking through the middle and then lifting weighted high balls to overlapping wingers, or the reverse.

Chonburi dealt with it well by keeping a deep and physically strong back line, but it was surely just a matter of time. Sure enough Dagno did the honours and put the topping on the Christmas pudding by running to our corner and celebrating right in front of us. But then something strange happened, something that probably says a lot about our state of mind.

In the not too distant past, taking the lead at home would spur us on to more and more goalscoring chances as the visitors pushed forward and miraculously escaped any of the injuries which had caused them to roll around in "agony" before the goal went in. This time however, we started to sit back and ride our luck by defending a single goal lead. Fowler started to drift out of the game even before the half time whistle which left Teerasil and Dagno to try and force a way through the middle, since the overlapping wide players now decided to stay deep and defend. If Robbie noticed any of this, I didn't see him address it at all.

In the second half Robbie made two touches of the ball that I recall. One was a nice little jink in the Chonburi box to release Dagno, a nice move but nothing that Chistian, Miroslav or even Ahnon couldn't do ten times a game. The other touch was a lazy hacked clearance that immediately gave possession back to the visitors. The goals were inevitable and sure enough Chonburi equalised and then took the lead within minutes.

When Fowler was substituted (for Anon), a cheer actually went up from home fans. I honestly don't know if it was relief he was leaving the field or a knee-jerk clap to the mention of "God's" name. Chasing the game, we actually started to get back on top and force a few desperate clearances from Chonburi. But It was too little, too late and we slumped to our second successive home defeat.