Late For The Match
by Dale Farrington
During 2004 and 2005, my Sundays were sacred. At least every other Sunday was. I would follow a familiar routine that I felt as comfortable in as my own skin. After a relaxing morning, I would ride my motorcycle the short distance from home, to the little shop opposite the main entrance to Assumption College in SriRacha. Here I would wait for my friend, Ian to arrive on the bus from Pattaya. We would then buy some refreshments, cross the road and join the few dozen others in the main stand of the Princess Srindhorn Stadium to watch Chonburi take on all comers in the Thailand Pro League.
It was a much simpler time and a very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon and early evening. Finding information was difficult - even in Thai - but admission was free and the atmosphere was akin to a midweek English county cricket match. The football too was entertaining. We realised it wasn’t the most technical we’d ever seen (being lifelong Oldham and Southampton fans!) but the players put the effort in and we never saw any of the “gamesmanship” that now blights the local game.
On one particular Sunday, midway through our promotion season in 2005, we pitched up at our usual time and headed to the ground. It seemed a little quieter than usual, but we didn’t think anything of it. It was - and still is - quite common for Thai fans to arrive after kick off so no alarm bells were ringing. However, as we got to the car park behind our usual vantage point, we did begin to suspect that something was amiss. There was absolutely no-one around and no sign that a football match was about to take place.
Undeterred, and feeling wildly optimistic, we entered the empty ground and took our usual seats. Our thinking being that maybe the match would start at 5:00pm instead of the usual 4:00pm. A few minutes, and a couple of beers later, we saw a man walk through one of the gates next to where we sitting.
“Hello,” I shouted in my best Thai. “What time is kick off today?”
“They played yesterday,” he said, and disappeared back the way that he had come in, leaving two bewildered and disappointed Englishmen staring at an empty field with only a crate of ale for company. Needless to say, we made the most of the situation.
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