TPL
Chonburi v BEC Tero
Sunday 13th July, 2014
Match preview by John Lees
Three straight victories has lifted us back into the title shake up and on Sunday we welcome unbeaten BEC Tero Sasana to the Chonburi Stadium. A home victory would lift us above the Fire Dragons in the league standings.
Their Season so Far
As mentioned in the introduction, Tero have yet to taste defeat this season. With a statistic like that you’d expect them to be running away with the title. They are, however, only in second place as they have drawn 50% of their 22 matches. In their ten away matches, they’ve won four and six have been tied. Their four away day successes came at Army, Chainat, Ratchaburi and Suphanburi and, they were all won by one goal margins.
Who are They Managed By?
Jose Alves Borges was head coach of the uninspiring BBCU football club before he was given the same position at BEC Tero just under a year ago. In the three seasons prior to his appointment, Tero had gone through six coaches so the fact that he’s kept his job this long shows he is doing something right.
Who Plays for Them?
(Foreigners)
In Sho Shimoji’s maiden season in the TPL last year, he didn’t look anything special, yet this year he has stepped up to the mark and is the club’s top scorer with 10 goals. The Japanese man isn’t an out-and-out striker which makes his tally even more impressive. Georgie Welcome comes next on the list with six goals. The 190cm striker has dawned the world’s biggest tournament and came off the bench three times at the 2010 World Cup for Honduras. The big man has also made a handful of appearances for Monaco in Ligue 1. Another player who made it onto the plane to South Africa was Daiki Iwamasa of Japan. He didn’t make an appearance but his CV does include 3 successive J-League titles with Kashima Antlers between 2007-09. The experienced defender is an ever present this term and he’s scored four goals including one at Buriram last Saturday. He could be partnered by Belix Kasongo although it’s most likely the man from Congo will be a substitute. Youngster Gilbert Koomson appears to have been on the scene for ages yet he is only listed as being 19 years old. The pacy winger has benefited from a loan spell at Samut Songkhram last year. New signings Otman Djellilhine and Radomir Dalovic will be hoping for his first involvement this Sunday.
(Thais)
Our recently departed left sided player, formerly known as Anucha Kitpongsritada, has made his way onto the bench at Tero and it’s unlikely we’ll see him on Sunday. For the record, he now goes by the name of Chayapat and not Anucha. Club captain Rangsan Viwatchaichok is well into his 30’s and was part of the PEA/Buriram revolution a few seasons ago. Similar to our very own Therdsak, Rangsan can change a game with a killer ball. Goalkeeper Tossaporn Srireung came from Army last season and is an ever present between the sticks. He’s made a couple of clangers this season and seems to lose his bearings at times. Youngsters Peerapat Notechaiya, Tanaboon Kesarat and Narubodin Aromsawa potentially have a bright future in the Thai game and the trio should feature in some form of defensive capacity. Another youngster Chanathip Songkrasin was billed as the ‘Thai Messi’ a couple of years ago but his jockey-like frame hasn’t dazzled the Thai public as much as anticipated. Jirawat Makarom arrived this week just before the transfer window closed after he was deemed surplus to requirements at the Thunder Castle. French/Thai forward Tristan Do was another late entrant boarding the Tero bus.
The Fans
When Chonburi first emerged onto the scene, BEC Tero were seen as the big fish in a relatively small pond. At this time they had connections to the Nong Jork area but during the TPL boom years, they played at the Thephasadin in the centre of Bangkok. With so many shopping malls in the location, they struggled to entice fans to the stadium and the club have moved back to their roots in a bid to find some. Home crowds have gotten larger but their away support is still rather paltry considering their league position. Even though they are not a university club, the supporters of Tero have a student vibe about them.
How Do We Usually Do When BEC Tero Are in Town?
We haven’t lost to BEC Tero in 12 meetings. Our last defeat to them came six years ago in 2008. Since that home loss, we haven’t conceded a goal on home turf against BEC and we’ve been victorious on their last five visits. Last season we easily beat them 3-0. Our former stopper Sujin had a ‘mare as goals from Boskovic, Chakrit and Anucha rounded off an enjoyable Sunday evening.
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