TPL
Chonburi 5-1 Pattaya Utd
Chonburi Stadium
Attendance: 4,317
Gate Receipts : B613,650
Merchandise : B127,080
Saturday 6th April, 2013
Match Report
Move over, Rover, and let Gbenga take over. There's a new guitar in town and his name is Gbenga Samuel Ajayi (according to the matchday programme) or Samuel Gbenga Ajayi (according to Wikipedia). But whatever he's called, he's already established himself as a firm favourite with the Chonburi faithful. His performance yesterday transformed a dull, lifeless encounter between two poor teams into something approaching entertainment. After replacing the luckless Noppanon just after the half hour mark, the Nigerian took the game by the scruff of the neck and put on a display that we could actually get excited about.
Prior to his arrival, Chonburi had looked lacklustre and short of ideas but this all changed after the winger was introduced. It was so refreshing to see someone in a blue shirt who was prepared to run at people and look as if he was enjoying himself. Time and time again he tormented the Pattaya defence with his skill, pace and quick thinking. He also sparked his team mates into life by giving them a much needed kick up the backside. I hope they all bought him a couple of drinks in the Sharks Cafe last night.
The twenty eight year old played a major role in three of the four second half goals and also won us a penalty - more of which later. But his contribution was more than just about adding a few "assists" to his CV. It was a genuine attempt to launch our season after a faltering start. If truth be told, there's a lot of dissatisfaction and disillusionment around at the moment and the mood at half time yesterday was grim, to say the least. However, there was a stark contrast at full time. People were actually smiling and I detected a buzz that hasn't been there for a long time. I don't think we're fully out of the mire just yet, but thanks to one man's efforts yesterday, we're all feeling just a little bit more optimistic today.
Now I know that it would be nice to end it there, on a positive note, but I can't finish without mentioning "Penaltygate" (I did promise), and bringing everyone back down to earth. A few minutes before the end of the match, Chonburi were awarded a penalty following a foul on our new hero. Up stepped Thiago Cunha, just as he had done at Ratchaburi last week. He was on a hat trick and nothing, it seemed, was going to deny him his moment of glory. But this is when it all went weird. As he strode towards the spot, centre half Fode Diakite tried to wrestle the ball from him and an argument ensued. This was when club captain Pipob On-Mo got involved and, for about a minute the three men stood on the edge of the penalty area in a Mexican Stand Off.
Eventually, the honour was given to Diakite and Thiago sloped off in a huff. However, the drama didn't end there. The central defender inexplicably tried to place the ball past the keeper without taking a run up. He failed and the weak effort went straight into the arms of the visiting custodian. It was a bizarre and undignified ending to the game and, more worryingly, hints at deep rooted problems at the club. Let's just hope that it can be quickly forgotten, unlike Samuel's efforts, which will live long in the memory.
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