Thai League - Matchday 18
Chonburi 1 - 2 Muang Thong Utd
Chonburi Stadium
Attendance: Behind Closed Doors
Thursday 11th February, 2021
The '' El Classico '' of Thailand has reach upon us once again. This match has lost its lustre and status of being a '' Big Match '' in the Thai league calendar over recent years. Match day 18 however might turn out different as both head coaches has vowed to bring life back into the Thai '' El Classico".
In the Blue Corner... having played more than 130 matches as a professional footballer and coaching for more than 20 years now is Coach Sasom '' The Short '' Pobprasert
In the Red Corner...having played more than 360 matches as a professional footballer and coaching for less than a year is Coach Mario '' The Fashionista '' Djurovski.
Starting line-up for both teams is as expected with some team rotation happening across the league now as they race against time to finish up the season. The only surprise I had was Sinthaweechai sporting a new hair cut that made him looked 10 years younger that could possibly changed his name to ''SinthaweeBOY''.
Both teams used about 10 minutes to feel each other out and the match tempo up till now was slow No one was ready to take any risk just yet. First piece of action came on 12th minute when Derley was put through on goal and his shot was saved by Sinthaweechai. Derley then followed up with a second attempt which flew past the face of the Chonburi goal. Just a minute later, Chonburi was awarded a free kick just outside the Muang Thong penalty box. Two players stood over the ball but it was pretty obvious Kroekrit 's left foot would work well here and it forced a fine save from Somporn Yos.
From this moment on the Sharks were beginning to get into the groove and created more chances which they repeatedly fail to finish. On 24th minute mark Channarong blasted his shot high into row Z from a really good position just outside the box. Phanuphong was next on 31st minute shooting just wide of Muang Thong's goal. It was starting to look like Chonburi's poor finishing would come back to haunt them later into the night. Eliandro finally got Somporn Yos working again with another fine save and I was thinking to myself that Mario must be loving Somporn to bits by now.
Worachit was next on 41st minute and you guessed it right...The Muang Thong custodian was on hand yet again to keep Muang Thong's clean sheet intact. '' Super '' Somporn starting to prove that previous clean sheets was not a fluke and Thai national team coach Nishino might be asking for his number pretty soon.
Just when a 0 - 0 halftime score starts to look certain...The Kirins sprung a surprise... totally against the run of play Derley put in a speculative cross from the right wing Saharat tried to intercept it with a header but what he did was just to put it on a plate for Willian Popp to volley it home into Chonburi's goal. Sinthaweechai stood no chance at all and Popp has a real chance of winning goal of the week and maybe even goal of the month.
Half time whistle blows and Muang Thong lead 1 - 0 Chonburi were the better side but Muang Thong clearly had better finishing capabilities. Mario must be happy as Muang Thong were being pretty wasteful in previous matches I knew I was happy with the Kirin's finishing today.
Second half started for a while and on 55th minute Chonburi went really close to a goal. Saharat's shot hits the post and the ball bounce back hitting Somporn Yos going out for a corner kick whatever amulet Somporn is wearing...I want one of those !!! 60th minute reached and Coach Sasom decided to call upon Durosinmi in search for the equalizer. The game pace starts to move into second gear and there was a period of end to end stuff but the second goal of the game did not arrive.
Sasom decided to go for broke and did a Mourinho triple substitution but the next piece of action came from the Kirins as Willian Popp forced a save from Sinthaweechai and the Chonburi Keeper hurriedly placed the ball for the corner kick to be taken. Very impressive for a 38 year old showing such enthusiasm to get the team back into the game.
But football as we all know is sometimes a cruel game. Willian Popp tried to look for Derley with a lob into the box and the ball somehow manage to find its way into Chonburi's goal. Muang Thong is now up by two goals to nil. I am sure Derley did not get a touch on the ball but the goal was awarded to him anyways... I don't really care as my team is now on course for 3 precious points away from home.
89th Minute and Jaycee John scores a consolation goal after some impressive one two plays in the box you could say Chonburi do deserve a goal for all their hard work but it was a little too late as Muang Thong decided to play it safe and bring the points back to SCG Stadium.
Overall the match was not as boring as those Thai '' Lakorn '' that my mum-in-law binge watch all day long although I would prefer the players to show more aggressiveness and square up to each other with some pushing and shoving as one would expect in a '' Big Match ''. Throw in a red card or a controversial decision from the ref and we could have a better '' El Classico ''.That being said...this was a better display as compared to the last time both teams met. Kudos to the players for showing a spirited performance in an empty stadium.
My beloved Kirins won but I can't say they were the better team. But Muang Thong had better shape in attack and with no major changes during the transfer window the understanding between the players has proved to be a plus point as they rarely screwed up their link up plays and kept possession well. Although I have seen better creativity coming from the Kirins under coach Mario. Muang Thong also had that little bit of extra luck with them tonight.
I don't follow Chonburi much but from what little memory that I have, they seem to play football with more flair and better creativity now. Kaman , Saharat and Phanuphong looked impressive for their age.The new foreign players look good as well with Kelic and Eldstal pairing up in defence giving that solid feel in the back line they just need a bit more time to build up a good understanding between them. Durosinmi adds width to the attack and Jaycee John showed that he can still score goals in T1.
Willian Popp was my Muang Thong '' Man of the Match '' and Jaycee John is my choice for Chonburi '' Man of the match '' as he has shown his impact coming on as a sub scoring a late goal. Both coaches kept their promises and played attacking football. I would give it a 7/10 rating for this match but it definitely was not a '' El Classico '' worthy to be written into the Thai league bible.
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