League Cup Quarter Final 1st Leg
Ratchaburi 1-0 Chonburi
Ratchaburi Municipal Stadium
Wednesday 3rd July, 2013
Match Report
THE RAIN FALLS HARD ON A HUMDRUM TOWN
After nearly three hours of driving through glorious sunshine, we pass the “Welcome to Ratchaburi” sign and the heavens open. It absolutely buckets down. Thankfully there are still another three hours to go until kick off. We are all fearing a Samut Songkhramesque swampfest later but we soldier on towards the ground. After finding a suitable parking spot, we grab our brollies and run – rather gingerly, it has to be said - into the local Robinsons to look for food.
MEAT IS MURDER
After settling on the Jeffer’s Steak House as our restaurant of preference (sorry Pizza Company & KFC), we peruse the menu for something suitable to fill the hole. However, everything we ask for – apart from our choice of drinks – has run out. Fantastic! A steak house with no steak! Finally, we find a dish they still have, so we order that. When it eventually arrives – thirty minutes later – it is actually quite good.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, LET ME GET WHAT I WANT
Following our meal, we make the short walk to the stadium. It’s still raining lightly, and is very wet underfoot, but we remain optimistic that the match will go ahead. We buy a few beers and sit down amongst a group of fellow travellers to discuss the match. After the disappointments of recent weeks, we are all hoping for an improvement and for the team to put in some effort. For the first ten minutes or so, we are fairly content, as we hassle, challenge and even create a couple of chances. Sadly, after such a bright start, we fall back into recent bad habits and let the home side dominate for the remainder of the opening period.
STOP ME IF YOU THINK YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE
Our answer to this, is to make yet another first half substitution; the unfortunate Noppanon being replaced by Samuel after 40 minutes. I don’t know what the World Record for first half changes is but we must hold it. And, once again, our tactics leave a lot to be desired. Therefore, it comes as no surprise when Ratchaburi take the lead. The dissatisfaction on the terraces is tangible and it’s obvious that the players are just as fed up as we are. The small, but loyal, band of fans in the away end has done its bit to try and raise the team but now have all but given up and people are making their own amusement – posting on Facebook seems to be the most popular. I settle for counting the number of hexagons that have been imprinted into the concrete terracing under my feet.
NOWHERE FAST
The second half sees an improvement and we enjoy the lion’s share of possession. There are even a few cohesive passing moves and forays into the opposition penalty area. Unfortunately, we look toothless in front of goal and never look like scoring. It’s a clear sign that confidence is low as no-one is prepared to shoot. Adul finally plucks up the courage to have a go (in injury time) but his effort goes wide. The final whistle goes and one or two players sink to their knees. The fans shrug and start to filter out of the ground. All that huff and puff and we’ve got nowhere. The team comes over to acknowledge those fans who remain and then slink away towards the dressing room to listen to pearls of wisdom from our coaching staff.
YOU JUST HAVEN’T EARNED IT YET, BABY
As we wallow in self pity, the rest of the stadium celebrates. However, the celebrations are disproportionate to the occasion. It’s still only “half time” and, as poor as we were, I don’t think Ratchaburi are a particularly good side. This tie is far from over. Enjoy your moment, folks, but remember, there’s still another ninety minutes to play. And, who knows, by the time you come to our place, we might just have turned the corner and be in the mood to give someone a right good tonking! You won’t seem so smug then. Will ya?
HEAVEN KNOWS I’M MISERABLE NOW
We trudge wearily back to the car, avoiding puddles, joyful home fans, errant motorbikes and incompetent traffic police. Another rotten display and I’ve got a three hour drive home in the dark to look forward to. It’s been pretty grim supporting Chonburi just lately and I have to dig deep into my reserves of strength to turn the key in the ignition. It’s not just the results, it’s everything. There is a deep malaise at the club just now and it needs to be stamped out before we go into freefall. I don't think I'm being melodramatic here. The management seems to have taken its eye off the ball and let the playing side of things slip. It's all very well having fancy "name" brand merchandise for sale in the club shop and a state of the art ticketing system but without a decent team on the pitch, it all counts for nowt.
BACK TO THE OLD HOUSE
The journey back is a pretty mournful affair. Amidst long bouts of silence (and a lively discussion on the state of youth football in England), we dissect the match, what’s going wrong at the club and how we would deal with it. We stop a couple of times for toilet breaks and to stock up on comfort food – crisps, pop and sweets etc. We also spend half an hour trying to recall the name of the snack that customers are given free in Indian restaurants in the UK. When I finally remember that it’s called Bombay Mix, it’s the highlight of the trip. After dropping off my two travelling companions, I continue the rest of the drive home in silence and replay the whole game in my head. We still lose.
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