TPL
Chonburi v Osotspa
Chonburi Stadium
1st June, 2014
Match preview
by John Lees
In town on Sunday are Osotspa Saraburi. The club are one of the longest serving TPL members and they have been regular visitors to Chonburi over the last decade or so. After dropping two points to struggling Sisaket on Wednesday, this is a contest where we need to haul three points.
Their Season so Far
Osotspa eternally seem to be placed somewhere in the middle of the pack between 6th from top and 6thfrom bottom. They are never good enough to mount a title challenge yet at the same time they have too much quality to be dragged in affairs at the other end of the table. Just now they are in 11th place having collected 20 points from their first 14 games. The club has found themselves back in Bangkok this season after the floodlights at their Saraburi venue were deemed inadequate for hosting TPL matches. Osotspa have struggled at their temporary Rajamangala base while it’s on the road where they’ve reaped more dividends. They have a 50% win rate and have only lost once in an away fixture. That defeat came in controversial circumstances at Chiang Rai United three weeks ago.
Who are They Managed By?
The man in charge is Chalermwoot Sa-Ngapol. Many of you will recognise him as the bushy haired former Pattaya United coach. He led the Dolphins to a fourth place finish in 2011 and despite a lack of funds in 2012, he managed to keep Pattaya in the TPL. In 2013 after a poor start, he was ousted from Pattaya and he was given the Osotspa job. The Saraburi club were lingering in the bottom half of the table when Chalermwoot took over yet he managed to guide them to a respectable 8th position last year.
Who Plays for Them?
(Foreigners)
Osotspa are one of the few TPL clubs that regularly rotates their seven foreign players. Defender Shelton Martis made a few appearances for West Bromwich Albion in the English top flight and he is probably the most recognized of their foreign staff. In Wednesday’s match with Buriram United, they started with the defensive trio of Jefferson, William Modibo and Hiromichi Katano while Anthony Komenan was selected upfront. The French born Ivorian is Osotspa’s joint top scorer with 4 goals along with Aron da Silva and Chananan Pombuppha. Aron da Silva will be well known to us after spells at Sriracha, Songkhla United and Army United. The last foreigner is Tangeni Shipahu the Namibian internationalist. The number 9 has pace to burn but inconstancy appears to be his downfall.
(Thais)
The Thai player to keep an eye on is Thai under 23 international Chananan Pombuppha. The youngster never made the breakthrough at Muangthong United but he seems to have blossomed after moving to Saraburi for regular first team football. Alongside Chananan, goalkeeper Chatchai Budprom is the only other ever present this season. Other regular starters are midfielders Narong Jansawek, Apipoo Suntornpanavech and their team captain Jetsada Puanakunmee.
The Fans
The club relocated to Saraburi from Bangkok five years ago so most of their following these days comes from the dusty, concrete province. It’s hard to decipher how much support they’ve lost since their temporary move back to the capital. Last season, they brought about 100 fans to Chonburi and it’s unlikely they will surpass that figure on Sunday. The fans of Osotspa will be easy to spot with their bright yellow sponsored shirts.
How Do We Usually Do When Osotspa Are in Town
Generally we’ve done very well against them. In eight previous visits to the Chonburi Stadium, they have never won. We’ve won four times while the spoils have been shared on four occasions. Last season it ended in a largely forgettable 0-0 stalemate. Our last home victory came in April 2012 when two late goals helped us earn a 3-1 victory.
No comments:
Post a Comment