Bangkok Utd 1-1 Chonburi - Match Report: 2009

TPL

Bangkok Utd 1-1 Chonburi

Thai-Japanese Stadium

Attendance 1,807

Sunday 6th September, 2009

Match Report
In the eight hours that I was away from home on Sunday I could have watched both series of The Office, plus the Christmas Specials, listened to White Man in Hammersmith Palais by The Clash 120 times, boiled 160 eggs, travelled by bus to Korat (and most of the way back) or flown from Bangkok to Perth (Australia). All of these would have been preferable to enduring a disappointing display by a Chonburi side which really needed to win.

During last season’s run in, games and results like this were common, as we blew chance after chance to overtake PEA at the top. Let’s hope that this doesn’t signal another frustrating few weeks.

It’s hard to say exactly why we were so poor. We did lose Ekaphan early on, which didn’t help, but none of the others really seemed to get to grips with the basics all afternoon. It would be unfair to single out one particular player for criticism but Cherry’s replacement Keneung had a stinker. We’ve all had days like these, when everything goes wrong, and I felt particularly sorry for the lad who is desperately short of match practice.

Throughout the game passes were going astray and we were getting caught in possession far too many times. Even when we had the ball, no-one seemed to know what to do with it.

We had started the match by defending deeply but started to press up the field a little more after Michael Byrne and Zico had a short discussion about tactics on the touchline. This ploy helped us to stifle the home side’s attacks but, as we weren’t really creating much ourselves, led to something of a stalemate.

Bangkok Utd took the lead on 35 minutes when the Chonburi defence failed to deal with a high ball in the penalty area. I feared the worst.

Fortunately, only a few minutes later we were awarded a free kick about 25 yards from the home goal. Arthit territory? Normally. But on this occasion Michael Byrne and Panawut had other ideas. The Thai midfielder casually rolled the ball sideways and Byrne fired home. Relief all round.

There was a slight improvement in the second half but we never really hit our stride. A few times we broke with four attackers against three defenders but the ball always seemed to land at the feet of the hapless Keneung. We also escaped when a Bangkok effort hit the underside of the bar and bounced back into play. From where I was sitting – not that far away – it looked like it had crossed the line. However, the home side’s appeals weren’t that vehement, and they were content with a corner.

As the final whistle blew, us visiting fans applauded our team. We knew it had been a poor performance – indeed we’d been strangely muted all match – but we are a loyal lot.
As for those eight hours? I’d do it all again tomorrow. True football fans know that it’s not just about the match. I had a good day out amongst friends. Sunk a few beers and even read a few chapters from “The Olivetti Chronicles”, by John Peel, on the bus. Roll on next weekend.