Chonburi 2-0 Samut Songkhram - Match Report: 2009

TPL

Chonburi 2-0 Samut Songkhram

Princess Srindhorn Stadium

Attendance: 5,000

Saturday 12th September, 2009

Match Report
A fairly disjointed performance but I'll happily take the three points. As expected, a couple of players were rested and Kone was named in the starting line up. So too were Jean Marc Benie and Piopb which indicated Zico's attacking intentions.

We started brightly enough with Keneung and Adul looking lively but quite often things would break down when the ball reached the forwards. Benie being particularly guilty of wasting possession.

Samut Songkhram had also come to attack and were causing us one or two problems with their quick breaks. Fortunately the defence looked fairly solid and, the goalkeeper formerly known as Kosin, was his usual reliable self when called on to make a save.

As the half wore on it was obvious that changes needed to be made so it came as no real surprise when Benie was replaced by Michael Byrne in the 40th minute. Byrne made an immediate impression by chasing down defenders and showing an eagerness to get involved.

This new found sense of urgency soon spread to his team-mates and within a couple of minutes The Sharks had taken the lead courtesy of a splendid finish by Pipob. Perfect timing. And I was able to enjoy my half time cup of tea feeling far more relaxed.

The second half was pretty much the same as the first. Chonburi playing well in patches and the visitors enjoyed a fair amount of time on the ball. With the result still not a foregone conclusion, Zico sent on Arthit and Kriangkrai to replace Jakkaphan and Kone. I'm not really a fan of the five across the middle tactic that we have used this season but it did seem to work today. The Samut Songkhram midfielders had far less space and this effectively cut down their threat.

The victory was finally secured in the last ten minutes. Chonburi were awarded a free kick on the left hand side. Nattapong and Michael Byrne stood over the ball. At the last second, Nattapong pulled back and Byrne whipped in a perfect cross. Pioob On-Mo had all the time in the world to watch the ball on to his head, pick his spot and nod home. The less said about the poor defending the better.

As the closing minutes were played out I reflected on the difference between this season and last. During our run in last year we were consistently dropping points in games like this. However, even though we only really played in patches, we do seem to have a little more in reserve this time out. It's probably going to go all the way to the wire.