Buriram Utd 3-2 Chonburi
Attendance: 32,600
Friday 15th April, 2016
Match report
by Peter Reeves
Well I expect most Sharks fans are bitterly disappointed at losing a match with the last effective touch of the game. Hard to take sometimes especially after clawing your way back into the match from two down. Should have been a draw and if it hadn’t been for Chonburi’s very benevolent defensive attitude of ‘after you, sir’ maybe more. Let’s deal briefly with the goals and then we can look at other issues.
1-0. Ball over the top (endless tonight) and through the middle. No defensive cover and what there was ineffective. Dos Santos had to be stronger than he was and ended up on his backside. Poor defensive play.
2-0. Free header in the box 2 metres out. No challenge and no one reacted to the threat. Very poor defending. Incidentally within 60 seconds it happened again and there was nearly a 3rd.
2-1. Free kick nicely placed in but clearly offside no question.
2-2. Rodrigo given yards of space to move into and curled one in off the far post. I suppose sooner or later he was going to hit the target.
At that stage to me there looked only one winner but Chonburi showed a fundamental flaw. A lack of courage. They let Buriram back in when all they had to do was stay composed and keep the ball.
3-2 Mad panic in the area from a corner. Dos Santos again should have cleared but didn’t, goalkeeper flapping at the ball, everybody else just watching. Extremely poor defending all round.
Isn’t it the same every week. Defence-defence-defence! Can someone please explain to me what they do in training?
Before the match I said to the webmaster I thought Buriram were there for the taking tonight. I wasn’t that impressed last year. Champions yes, Unbeaten, yes but half the teams they play are little more than British pub teams and I thought last season the defense looked vulnerable and this season they are again. Without Diogo they are a shadow of what they were. And I don’t care what anyone says, they are poor at the back so you get after them. Tonight they were there for the taking. Defence poor and disorganized, goalkeeper suspect. Chonburi made it easy for them. Gave them time and space to knock the ball around in midfield and played a very high line at times which allowed an endless stream of balls played over the top.
So the Chonburi technical and tactical performance. When they were under pressure they couldn’t seem to hold on to the ball. Long silly passes to no one. Just giving it away and inviting Buriram to come again. When they did get it forward to Rodrigo he was isolated with no support. Buriram were being given all the time and space in midfield they wanted. No one picking spare players up. No one closing the receivers down. They don’t know what to do when they are not in possession. Matches are sometimes won by what you do when you haven’t got the ball. If you are going to ‘give’ teams goals like tonight, you are not going to win.
When they did have the ball there were times when they made a few passes but it looked aimless and not really turning the possession into a threat. Too many balls just wasted with poor technique and passing ability. After 20 minutes it was about even. No real chances but the pattern was developing as Buriram bossed Chonburi’s inactivity in midfield and were constantly looking for that ball over the top which the Chonburi defence really should have understood by this stage.
They should have brought their line back maybe 2 or 3 metres and let the midfield do the advanced covering, but when you have a midfield whose only activity is to lie all over the floor pretending they are hurt it’s difficult. Then the goals started to go in.
In the second half more of the same. Buriram still catching them with balls over the top, six times-I counted, on both flanks and down the middle. Then it was 2-2 and then the last seconds 3-2.
So in my dreams the Chairman has just come to me and said “What have we got to do here?"
Right, Number 1. Get rid of the coach. Glamour boy from the past he might be. Coach he is not. He’s had them for months now and the defence is just as bad. He’s made either no effort or no difference. He can’t do it. How many times have I got to say this. Defence is half the game. If you can’t defend you are no good. Simple. Mind you, he’s not the only one. There’s another one just the same up here. Must be something in the Som Tum.
“What else” he asks. Number 2. Get rid of the following immediately and find replacements. Rodrigo. Out the door. Despite his goal he can’t lead a line, cannot interact, is weak in the challenge and gets booked because he can’t keep his mouth shut. Total liability. Number 25 (Chonlatit). Out the door. Poor technique and should have been sent off for pushing a player to the floor and then kicking the ball at him. No good at all. Number 10 (Pipob). Out the door. Fancies himself a bit and can play a little but his attitude in rolling all over the floor pretending he’d been hit in the face was worse than pathetic. Attitude appalling. Get rid of him. Goalkeeper (Chanin). Not convinced at all. Give him a tough training session and if he doesn’t impress out the door. Both full backs, tell them if they dare cross the half way line you are going to tie them to their own goalposts. That’s for starters. But it should wake the rest up.
“Anything else” he asks. Yes I say, give every one of those fantastic supporters who made that long journey a free ticket for the next home game. They shouldn’t have to drive 800kms there and back to watch a team of ‘professionals’ who can’t defend and end up losing a game they should at least have drawn.
Oh but then I woke up and remembered the club don’t give a whatsit so why would they want to change anything. Back to the world of dreams.
Match report: addendum
by Brian Enever
As usual, after seeing Peter's very good and honest report from Friday's game I didn't think there was much I could add. However, I'd thought I’d weigh in with a few comments on Therdsak and the team's progress so far. I feel I must highlight our defensive frailties, especially at fullback, and point out that Chonlatit can't stay in position, even as a central defender (the first goal was primarily down to him being too far forward and wide, leaving a massive hole at the back that Dos Santos simply couldn't cover). In addition, prior to his injury, Kim Chul Ho seemed settled in his defensive midfield role and in central midfield we have started to pass, move and link up with the attack more in the last few games, although, against better organised defences such as Buriram Utd, we run out of ideas in the final third.
Looking at Rodrigo, he's got some limited movement and works hard but he's not a patch on Thiago. I’d also like to point out that with a frail defence we can't go forward with any real shape and balance to our play, so we find it difficult to string meaningful passes together. Peter covered most of this in his match report but I felt it needed underlining by someone who sees it in the flesh, week in, week out.
On Therdsak himself, I do think we're starting to see some more movement and control in midfield, which of course is what we all liked about Therdsak the player. I also think though, that at times were are very slow and negative, relying on a safety first approach with our build up (similar to Heng's sides in the past). That could be Heng's influence but we need to be more positive.
Defensively we're a mess. My fear when Therdsak's appointment was announced, was that we'd suffer defensively and we have. He's had enough time to get his own ideas over to the players but simply doesn't seem to know how to organise a defence himself.
As someone who has only seen Therdsak over the last few months, Peter is very damming in his assessment and, I for one, can't argue with that assessment. But for those of us who have known and watched Therdsak for many years, I think we would all like to see him given a little time. But he needs help (immediately) to sort out the defence. He has got to bring in a defensive coach now, before it's too late. If we can get the shape and balance right at the back we will have something positive for Therdsak to build on. Without that help we'll continue to be inconsistent, and at times struggle, for the rest of the season.
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