TPL
Suphanburi 0-1 Chonburi
Suphanburi Stadium
Attendance: 7,552
Saturday 8th April, 2017
Match report
by Peter Reeves
I am often very critical of Thai football (who moi?), not only at the lack of technical and tactical qualities most of the players and teams demonstrate and the perpetual play acting that goes on but also at those charged with bringing the game forward here. So when I sit down in front of the TV notebook in hand I always wonder who will be the cause of much mirth, because there usually is someone, and don’t often comment on individual performances because frankly they aren’t worth commenting on. Tonight was a little different. Yes we had the ‘clown impersonation’, more of that later, but we also had two very good performances from individuals. A rare occurrence indeed.
Tonight Adul was outstanding and would receive my man of the match award and surely stuck two fingers up at the club who appeared to make no effort to keep him. He was everywhere. For the Sharks though I thought Nurul looked quite good. Pacy, threatening and even takes a decent free kick, a rarity here, he looked a cut above the rest of his team mates.
I am not going to go into details about the referee. He was just an embarrassment. So many wrong decisions and when action was needed didn’t take it. Shocking. On Monday two poor decisions gifted Chonburi the win, tonight this one was just awful. Are the ‘policemen’ charged with the responsibility actually doing anything about this at all? Of course not. I can think of at least one that should have gone before Zico. Just ‘who’ is the embarrassment?
For the first 10 minutes I was surprised with Suphanburi. They looked a decent side. Kept the ball and had a semblance of a shape. In the middle of the field with Adul, they were clearly better but they have two big problems. At each end of the field. They can’t score and they have no keeper. That will always be a problem.
Marques’ physical presence was causing a problem and the defender trying to mark him insisted in just hanging on to him as a means of stopping the threat. Referee was missing it every time and Marques getting a bit fed up with it let the defender ‘have the elbow’. Quite understandable under the circumstances, but please don’t do it right in front of the ref. Yellow Card. Could have been worse. The first real effort on goal saw Chanin dive to push away a decent effort and on 15 good work from Nurul ended with Andre Luis putting in the worst shot I’ve ever seen in my life. So far wide and high heaven only knows where that ended up.
The game was opening up and Suphanburi were looking in control of the midfield and on 17 broke through the Sharks defence with 2 against 1. The guy with the ball only had to knock it right and his attacker was clean through on Chanin. He chose the ‘glory path’ and blew it. Brain dead!
Half way through the half and Suphanburi were in no trouble. Chonburi had their share of possession but did little with it. Nurul looking the only threat.
On 34 Suphanburi got through the Sharks defence again but when the ball was played across the box the attacker just stood and waited for it allowing an interception. Good chance wasted. On 39 our ‘clown’ moment as a tame shot was spilled by the keeper. Marques said thanks very much. 0-1. What is it with goalkeepers here? Do they know they are allowed to catch it? Within a minute the home side had the ball in the net but was rightly ruled offside.
Half time came. Chonburi hadn’t taken hold of the game and Suphanburi looked better in the middle, but no attacking finish and had given a goal away. 0-1.
On 55 it almost got worse for the home side as poor defending allowed Marques in down the right channel. His cross almost turned into an own goal. Suphanburi though were pushing forward and on 56 number 20, cut inside and forced Chanin to tip an awkward shot over the bar. On 65 another chance as the defence was AWOL allowing a cross in to an unmarked attacker that Chonlatit did well to intercept.
Sharks were limited to the odd foray forward even though they were having some possession and on 73 another tame shot was spilled by the home keeper. This time there was no one close enough to take advantage and he grabbed it again.
The pressure on Chonburi was mounting though and I didn’t think they’d not concede. On 84 the best chance for Suphanburi was wasted and on 86 a completely free header 3 metres out given straight to the thankful Chanin. On 90+1 another free header close to goal missed. Five minutes of ‘Fergie Time’ finally ended and another win for the blues, but let’s pause a second in the midst of all the excitement.
Up into the top 6. Justified? Let’s have a look. Just about nicked a win at Sisaket, second from bottom, two poor penalty decisions presented a win against Ratchaburi. Tonight Suphanburi could have beaten them just with chances in the last 10 minutes. Despite all the understandable furore they are like a disappointing package at Christmas. Brightly lit external packaging, all very pretty, but open it up and there’s nothing inside. For long periods tonight they looked second best. Likewise Ratchaburi worth at least a draw. Cracks are being papered over by a mixture of very good fortune or downright poor opposition. The worrying thing from a neutral point of view is that last season they were capable of putting in a good performance, they just rarely did. This season they don’t look capable of it. Other than Nurul, very little to even talk about. Take just 6 points away from their total and have a look at the position now. And it could have been that but for referees and goalkeepers who aren’t.
I don’t buy it. They have problems on the field and bigger ones off it.
Match report
by Natt Miles
Luckily, yesterday I was watching Suphanburi vs Chonburi as opposed to watching my beloved Reading concede six goals after just 40 minutes and my hometown club Bracknell Town FC lose a league trophy and therefore promotion, on the last day. I'm hoping Bangkok United can cheer me up a little today. However, let’s talk about the game...
Suphanburi were the team on top for large amounts of the game and restricted Chonburi throughout. For me, Nurul was Chonburi's best player. Anything that happens attacking wise from Chonburi comes through him, which is a worrying sign in the event that he leaves or is injured. Suphanburi had the chances in the first half, however they were not taken. A mixture of woeful finishing and Chonburi keeper Chanin being equal to the task. After 34 minutes a low cross into the Chonburi box almost reached Anawin, who was ready to side foot the ball home, but a last ditch Andre Luis block, prevented this.
Not long after that, Chonburi made it 1-0 from a rare clear cut chance for them. Sinthaweechai, a keeper Chonburi fans know very much about, gifted Renan Marquez the perfect opportunity to tap home, after some tidy attacking football. Their goalkeeping coach will be tearing his hair out, as Sinthaweechai failed to hold onto a shot from outside of the box, when he probably should have been able hold it. Within two minutes Suphanburi had the ball in the net, however it was ruled offside. A decision not met with any protest, surprisingly.
In the second half, there wasn't too much of note until Chonburi found themselves in a counter attacking position, around 20 minutes from time, with a man advantage. This was a great chance to kill off the game (maybe not the right term given Thai defending), however the Chonburi player elected to shoot rather than lay off the ball to his right. The rest of the game was dominated by Suphanburi, who had various chances, which were not taken. However, unless you are Barcelona or Real Madrid, you have to expect the other team to have chances, especially when it's only 1-0 away from home.
Chanin was awarded Man of the Match for a good shot stopping display, however he did give Chonburi fans some scares, after failing to deal with two crosses in a row, his punches closer to the back of a player's head rather than the ball. Suphanburi will probably look back at the last of part of the game and know they missed two glorious chances via headers, one going just past the post, the other straight into Chanin's arms. In the injury time, Sinthaweechai got - as we call it in rugby "white line fever" - receiving the ball out wide, after coming up for a corner, before taking an utterly embarrassing dive in the Chonburi penalty box. The ref however, did not produce a yellow, maybe he felt the embarrassment of the dive was enough in itself.
So, it finally finished as a 1-0 win for Chonburi. A good result for them away from home. I had predicted a draw before the game. This leaves the Sharks in a much healthier position than most would have predicted at the start of the season, with the much reported budget problems. I felt it was a good enough performance tonight, but unfortunately don't see this squad finishing top half, despite winning four games on the trot. From what I can see, Chonburi simply do not have the players. I think we will really be able to judge Therdsak Chaiman at the end of the season.
Finally, if you’re in Thailand, enjoy Songkran over the next week. I’ll be looking forward to the Chonburi v Bangkok United mid week game the week after.
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