Pattaya No8 School v Chonburi
FA Cup 3rd Round
Nong Prue "Stadium"
Wednesday 26th August, 2009
K.O. 5:00pm
This has all the ingredients for a classic cup tie. The underdogs at home against one of the country's biggest clubs. A tight little ground, an imperfect playing surface and the possibility of bad weather. It's Hereford v Newcastle. It's Colchester v Leeds. It's Sutton v Coventry. It's David v Goliath. It's...nothing of the sort.
I fully expect this to be the most one sided first class football match that I have ever seen. A school team against a professional club packed full of internationals? We'll run up a cricket score. The only real question is, how many?
I must admit that I know absolutely nothing about our opponents, other than they have beaten Surin (on penalties) and Chankasem, 2-1, to reach this stage. That, in itself, is a fantastic effort and they fully deserve their fifteen minutes of fame and the chance to play against the "Big Boys".All credit to them for getting this far but this really is the end of the road.
If I'm being honest, I don't really know what to expect on Wednesday (other than a thumping great victory for the Sharks). What will the crowd be? I can't imagine it being more than a couple of hundred. What sort of team will we put out? Zico will probably rest a few players but I hope that he takes it seriously. It's a good chance for some to stake their claim for a first team berth and others to practise their shooting.
When Walter Winterbottom was England manager he used to warm up for big games by playing the national team against amateur sides. I expect that this will be a similar exercise. Does anybody know when the 4th Round draw will be?
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