League Cup
Round One
Rajpracha 0-4 Chonburi
Bangkok University, Rangsit Campus Stadium
Saturday 23rd March, 2013
Match Report
A comfortable win but a far from convincing performance against Rajpracha yesterday. Once again the defence looked an absolute shambles. They made far too many mistakes for my liking and would undoubtedly have been punished by a much better strike force. The biggest worry was the lack of any real leadership. No-one seemed to want to take charge in Sinthaweechai's absence and this certainly contributed to the unsettling number of sloppy errors. Noppanon was the biggest culprit in this respect but not once did I see anyone - team mate nor coaching staff - attempt to gee him up or offer any encouragement. Signs of deeper underlying problems? I hope not.
In midfield, Kushida was his usual hard working self but still showed a lack of desire to go forwards. There were two or three occasions when he had the chance to make a run with the ball or shoot but chose instead to go backwards. I really wish he'd show a bit more ambition. Yesterday was the perfect opportunity for him to assert himself on a game but, once again, I'm afraid he fell short. Maybe he was saving himself for Wednesday night?
The front two worked very hard and reaped the rewards by netting all four goals between them. Boskovic had his best game so far in a Chonburi shirt and the confidence he will have surely gained from his performance against Rajpracha will hopefully see him step it up in the TPL. If hadn't been for the fact that Thiago scored a hat-trick, the Montenegrin would have been my Man of the Match.
As for Thiago, he too was outstanding. He obviously has a desire to score goals and was not afraid to try a few audacious efforts, which sadly didn't come off. Goals aside, he also impressed me with his tireless running and was still tracking back right up until the final whistle. If he can stay fit - and out of trouble - he could well be one of the shining lights in this season's domestic leagues.
So, overall, a workmanlike performance, with one or two bright spots, against a poor team that sees us through to the second round of the League Cup. If we get lucky with the draw, and the club takes the competition seriously, there's no reason why we can't make it to the last four at the very least. We'll face much tougher opposition than we did yesterday, and we'll need to play a lot better, but I'll personally be disappointed with anything less.
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