TPL
Nakorn Ratchasima 2-0 Chonburi
80th Birthday Stadium
Attendance: Played behind closed doors.
7th February, 2021
Match Report
by Russ John
Seeking their fourth win in a row, the Swatcats welcomed the Sharks from Chonburi as the TPL resumed after a "covid" break.
After a cagey start from both sides, Dennis Murillo spurned a great chance in the 7th minute when he directed his short range header straight at the keeper. Minutes later Chitchanok headed wide after a fine cross from Amadou as the hosts surged forward.
The Swatcats continued to boss the game with the Sharks limited to occasional breaks forward and as the first half drew to a close, the home team might live to regret not taking advantage of their first half pressure.
The second half started explosively when Murillo broke forward and his astute pass put Naruphol clear who drew a fine save from the visitor's keeper. Murillo pounced on the rebound but the keeper saved again then Chitchanok blasted inches over the bar with the Shark defence in tatters.
In the 53rd minute a superb flowing move ended with a Chitchanok drive being tipped over by the keeper. From the resulting corner a terrific 22 yard drive from Naruphol gave the men from Korat a deserved lead as they continued to dominate.
The home pressure was now relentless and Kanuk sent a low drive inches wide and with Amadou a constant threat a second goal looked imminent. Chalermpong came close to achieving this when his headed effort from a corner thudded against an upright as the Swatcats strived for that elusive second goal.
The Sharks finally and belatedly woke up and in the 65th minute, after a fine passage of play, a shot went narrowly wide then Eliandro went close with a fine glancing header in the 76th minute as the Sharks began to sniff a point.
The late Shark revival quickly fizzled out and in the 80th minute Amadou put the game to bed when he converted a fine Jessie Curran cross to put the Swatcats two clear.
The Sharks countered and Jaycee John had a great chance of a consolation solo goal in the 89th minute but Akenekat charged back to clear his effort.
A well deserved victory against a disappointing Sharks outfit. In my opinion our best performance of the season. We seem to have suddenly clicked and our previous relegation worries seem a million miles away. The first half was probably one of their best halves of the season but failure to convert first half chances chances left them exposed.
Chonburi were poor tonight and probably made the home side look good but 12 points from the last 4 games have elevated the Swatcats to a lofty 9th place ........ but only 5 points above the bottom three!!! This fact confirms what a precarious position the team was in before the recent "super run"!!
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