TPL
Osotspa 1-2 Chonburi
Thanarom Village Football Field
Attendance: 2,417
Sunday 2nd August, 2009
Match Report
Fifteen minutes from time I turned to the bloke standing next to me and said, "I'd settle for a point, now." But it could all have been so different. As with last week's match we had played some wonderful stuff in the first half and should have been able to declare. However, some poor finishing meant we went into the break level at 0-0.
Early in the second period we were awarded a free kick in what the Thai press must surely be calling "Arthit Territory". Up stepped the man in the blue boots and fired his shot straight into the wall. But, by a quirk of fate, the ball cannoned off a defender and flew into the net, drawing gasps rather than cheers from the away fans.
It was just the stroke of luck we needed. Unfortunately, it served as more of a spark for the home team to spring into life than to inspire us. The intelligent Mensah was having a field day down the right hand side and was carving open the Chonburi defence at will. Therefore it came as no real surprise when he skipped past a host of static defenders and squeezed the ball home at Kosin's near post.
This was the cue for the visitors to respond. Only we didn't. Osotspa sensed victory and only some poor shooting and reluctance to shoot kept the scores level. With time ticking away and me looking up the name of a good dry cleaners, Kone received the ball on the edge of the home penalty area during a rare attack. He held off a couple of challenges, kept his balance and his nerve and slotted the ball into the bottom corner. Scenes of mass delirium followed, during which a corner flag was broken, causing a slight delay while a substitute was found.
The closing seconds were played out with a reprise of Michael Byrne's party piece - a trip to the corner for a game of keep ball; he's only played about 20 minutes for us so far and ten of these minutes must have been spent within five yards of the corner flag!
When the final whistle sounded, the 1,800+ visiting fans could celebrate. We're still top. Still 3 points clear. And still winning whilst playing below par. I love this club.
As a post script, next week will be our 100th TPL game. Our first ever away game in this division was against Osotspa at Rattanabundit University (an entertaining 3-3 draw, since you ask). I travelled to that match on the team bus with about 10 other fans. We were joined at the stadium by about 20 more. Yesterday we took nearly 2,000. Heady days indeed!
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