Weekend Round-Up 28-29 May

TPL

Navy 1-1 Army Utd

Sisaket 2-0 TOT

Buriram PEA 1-0 Sriracha

Thai Port 3-2 BEC Tero

Pattaya 1-1 Chonburi

Osotspa Saraburi 0-0 Chiang Rai

TTM Pichit 1-0 Samut Songkram

Bangkok Glass 5-3 Police Utd

Sarayoot (www.thaipremierleague)

Muangthong 1-0 Khon Kaen

The Pathumthani derby between Bangkok Glass v Police was an incredibly entertaining game. The home side won 5-3 and reports suggest that both teams heavily contributed to the entertainment. BG’s on-form striker, Sarayoot, scored a hat-trick and now tops the TPL scoring chart with 10 goals.  

In contrast, Army United’s Leandro seems to have lost his goal scoring touch with only one goal in his last 8 games. As a consequence, Army have slipped down the table a few places and still haven’t won an away game this season. Their latest attempt ended 1-1 at lowly Siam Navy.

Muangthong kept another clean sheet as they edged out Khon Kean with an early Teerasil goal. Their ground sharing neighbours, TOT,  lost 2-0 at Sisaket.

Division 1

Raj-Pracha 0-1 Chainat

JW Rangsit 1-1 Saraburi

BBCU 1-0 Chantaburi

Suphanburi 0-0 Air Force Utd

RBAC 1-1 SP Customs Utd

Phuket 0-3 Buriram FC

Bangkok Utd 3-1 Thai Honda

Songkla 4-0 Bangkok FC

PTT Rayong 1-0 Chaing Mai

The top two of BBCU and Buriram FC continue to dominate the league. The race for the 3^rd promotion place has shaken out the contenders from the pretenders into a 3 way chase between Bangkok Utd, Chainat and Songkla. 

Bangkok FC were spanked 4-0 on their trip down south to Songkla while Air Force United will be happy with a point from Suphanburi.

Division 2 (Bangkok)

Kasetsart 2-0 Kasem Bundit

Mapthaphut Rayong 1-1 Raj Vithi

BKK Christian 0-1 Nontaburi

Thanyaburi Asia Utd 2-1 Thai Airways Luk Issan

NSRU 1-1 Jamjuree

Prachinburi 1-1 Thai Fleet

North Bangkok FC 2-0 Samut Prakarn Utd

Assumption Thonburi 1-1 Globex

Prachinburi failed to win again and appear to be dropping out of the promotion race. North Bangkok College went top on goal difference after a Monday evening win over Samut Prakarn United. 

Thai Port 3-2 BEC Tero

Thai Port's good run continued with a 3-2 victory over near neighbours BEC Tero Sasana. In the space of 4 days, the Thai Port fans have seen their side score 6 goals in the last 2 home games as apposed to 4 in the first 5 homes games.

Thai Port were in complete control of the match just before the break with goals from Ekkachai on 20 minutes and Jacob Aikhionbare on 43. The idea should have been to keep it tight until the interval but Port gave BEC Tero a lifeline on the verge of half-time when Chris Brandon struck from inside the 6 yard box after an initial decent parry from Ulrich Munze.

Thai Port coach, Sasom, now had the decision of whether to add to the lead or shut up shop. After 10 minutes of the second half, Sasom raised a few eyebrows and pulled off two attacking midfielders for defensive midfielders.

It seemed a bit early to be closing out the game with 35 minutes left, but the decision was justified when substitute Worwut added a third in the 72nd minute.

The Fire Dragons did pull one back in injury time through Ekele Udojoh, although it was too little too late.

The result means that Thai Port are only 2 points behind BEC Tero now. The early season promise shown by BEC has long since disappeared and they need something to kick start their season. Thai Port will be glad to be in the comfort zone of mid-table after hovering above the relegation area for the early part of the season.

Attendance: 3,338

Kasetsart 2-0 Kasem Bundit

Kasetsart Stadium

Kasetsart defeated Kasem Bundit 2-0 in a game littered with misplaced passes and niggly fouls.

There was no doubt that Kasetsart deserved to win, but they made hard work of what should have been an easy victory.

Kasem Bundit were woeful in the first half and I don't think they had a shot on target. They improved slightly after the break and had a couple of half decent efforts from set pieces.

Fabricio and Jean Jean Celebrate Second Goal

Both of the home sides goals were scored with about 10 minutes remaining before the end of each half. The opener was a half volley from Sakorn and the second was a Fabricio header from a Jean Jean corner. 

At the end of the match, Kasetsart will be happy with the result but not neccessarily the performance. They'll have bigger tests to come and will need to perform better than they did today.

Click link to see goals:
http://sstv.siamsport.co.th/ViewClip.asp?C=00023786

BBCU 1-0 Chantaburi

To give both teams their full title, the result tonight was Big Bang Chulalongkorn University 1 Cash Today Chantaburi 0.

The only goal of the game was scored in the 34th minute by Adisak. His shot squirmed under the body of the Chantaburi goalkeeeper and on reflection his mistake cost his side the game.

The Chantaburi fans

The Chantaburi Hares will feel that they deserved something out of the game and will be disappointed to have left Bangkok with nothing to show for their efforts. Their performance today makes you wonder why they are only one place above the relegation zone.

The Pink Power (BBCU) have made a habit of grinding out tight victories and will see this game as a typical day at the office.

Zico on the touchline

BBCU are now managed by ex-Thai international legend and Huddersfield Town player  Kiatisuk "Zico" Senamuang . His team are strong defensively and are well organised. You can see that the players definitely respect playing for him. They will most probably be promoted but their biggest challenge will be winning the league. Can they overcome the squad and financial clout of Mrs. Newin Chidchob's Buriram FC?


Next weekend the pair will clash at Thunder Castle in what will be the division's biggest game to date. Regardless of the result, we can assume that both will be in the TPL next season.

Attendance: 680

Double Header??

Today I'm undecided whether to watch Kasetsart v Kasem Bundit or BBCU v Chantaburi. I could go to both as Kasetsart kicks-off at 4pm and BBCU at 6pm. If the traffic is kind, it's only a 10 minute journey between both stadiums.

I'll have at least one or possibly even two match reports to share later.

FA Cup Draw Round 2

The draw for the second round of the FA Cup was made today:
 
PTT Rayong v Saraburi
Songkla v Yasothon
Samut Prakarn Utd v Samut Prakarn Customs
Ratchaburi v BBCU
Khorat Sport School v Chantaburi
Krabi v Chiang Mai
Phuket v Bangkok Christian 
Samut Prakarn FC v Prachinburi
Kasetsart v Globex
Loei City v Suphanburi
Chainat v Thai Fleet
Khorat FC v Raj Pracha
Phitsanoluk v JW Rangsit
Air Force v Buriram FC
Roi Et v Samut Sakorn
Ranong v RBAC
Muangkan v Bangkok FC
Rayong v Bangkok United

The ties will be played on the 8,15 and 22 June.
The 3rd round draw will be made on 24th June.

Weekend Preview 28/29 May

TPL

Navy v Army Utd

Sisaket v TOT

Buriram PEA v Sriracha

Thai Port v BEC Tero

Pattaya v Chonburi

Osotspa Saraburi v Chiang Rai

TTM Pichit v Samut Songkram

Bangkok Glass v Police Utd

Muangthong v Khon Kaen

Bangkok’s two downtown based teams, Thai Port and BEC Tero Sasana, will clash at the PAT Stadium on Sunday.  Bec Tero started the season off brightly but have stuttered lately with 5 defeats from their last 7 games.  Thai Port on the other hand, have only lost one in 6 and will be looking to continue climbing up the TPL with a victory on Sunday. 

The Pathumthani derby between Bangkok Glass v Police should be a tight game. A victory for BG would move them to within one point of 3^rd placed Police Utd. 

Muangthong should beat Khon Kaen at the Yamaha Stadium while the Army need to start picking up points on the road. They travel to the IPE Stadium in Chonburi to meet their fellow military based rivals, Siam Navy.

Division 1

Raj-Pracha v Chainat

JW Rangsit v Saraburi

BBCU v Chantaburi

Suphanburi v Air Force Utd

RBAC v SP Customs Utd

Phuket v Buriram FC

Bangkok Utd v Thai Honda

Songkla v Bangkok FC

PTT Rayong v Chaing Mai

BBCU on paper have an easy home tie against 14^th placed Chantaburi. The current table toppers have won 6 on the bounce while Chantaburi have only picked up 4 points in their last 9 games. 

Bangkok United should also have too much at home to Thai Honda. Bangkok FC and Air Force United both have tough games with respective trips to Songkla and Suphanburi .

Division 2 (Bangkok)

Kasetsart v Kasem Bundit

Mapthaphut Rayong v Raj Vithi

North Bangkok FC v Samut Prakarn Utd

BKK Christian v Nontaburi

Thanyaburi Asia Utd v Thai Airways Luk Issan

NSRU v Jamjuree

Prachinburi v Thai Fleet

Assumption Thonburi v Globex

According to thaileagueonline.com, North Bangkok FC will play at home on Monday evening against Samut Prakarn United. This will only be their 2^nd home game of the season. Their new ground is still under construction so the game will be played at Bangkok University’s Rangsit campus. 

The game between Bangkok Christian and Nontaburi should be an interesting one on Sunday. Both sides are on the periphery of the promotion race and neither side will want to lose this one as it could severely dent their promotion prospects.

Thai Port in Top Half, Chonburi Into Last 8

Thai Port came from a goal behind to record a 3-1 home victory over TTM Pichit. Kim Joo Yong's early opener was cancelled out by Todsapol's rear end after a shot from Moise deflected off the Thai Port defender. Sompong made it 2-1 before the break and Steven Robb scored his first goal in Thailand to secure the 3 points for the Khlong Toei side.
The result lifts Thai Port into 9th place and for the first time this season, they're in the top half of the TPL.

Chonburi progressed to the AFC Cup quarter finals by beating Sriwijaya 3-0 at the Chonburi Stadium. They joined Thailand's Muangthong Utd in the last 8.
The draw for the AFC Cup quarter finals will take place on 7th June and the ties will be played in September.

Muangthong Utd 4-0 Al Ahed

Muangthong booked their place in the last 8 of the AFC Cup with a comfortbale 4-0 victory over Lebanon's Al Ahed on a wet night Tuesday night at the Yamaha Stadium. The only surprise of the evening was how the scoreline remained goalless at half-time. MTU had a glut of chances in the 1st half, and the combination of spectacular goalkeeping and poor finishing gave the visitors hope of securing an unlikely win.

That hope didn't last long as the tie was effectively over 5 minutes after the break. Two goals from low shots from the edge of the box by Teerasil and Naruphol had the reigning TPL champions in control. Christain added a 3rd on the hour with a free header from a corner and Datsakorn scored a trademark free-kick to finish off the rout 10 minutes from time.

It has to be said that West-Asian teams always struggle with the wet climate of South-East Asia. Had the game been played in the drier climate of Lebanon, I'm sure the result would have been different. The result tonight shows how important it is to finish top of the qualifying group rather than finsihing second.

Midweek Action

Muangthong United's AFC Cup adventure continues this evening when they meet Lebanon's double winners Al Ahed. It is a single leg match and then winner will progress to the quarter finals. MTU should start as favorites and an afternoon downpour at the Thunderdome would surely give the Thai side a strong advantage as the Lebanese team won't be use to playing on a wet pitch.

Meanwhile, Chonburi will host Siriwijawa of Indonesia at the Chonburi Stadium tomorrow night. The Indonesians scrapped into the last 16 after a dramatic 3-2 win against TSW Pegasus on the last day of qualifying. Home advantage should be enough to see the Sharks book their place in the last 8.

The TPL fixture between Thai Port and TTM Pichit was postponed last month and the rearranged game will take place tomorrow at the PAT Stadium at 4pm. A win for the Klong Toei boys would lift them into the top 10 for the first time this season. I expect there won't be a large attendance as it's impossible for a lot of people (myself included) to get away from work for the 4pm start. The early start is because the floodlights don't meet the TPL requirements. C'mon guys, open the piggy bank and sort the floodlights out!!!

PAT Stadium in the daytime

Weekend Results 21/22 May

TPL

Sriracha 0-2 TOT

Chiang Rai 1-1 Thai Port

Sisaket 2-2 Osotspa Saraburi

Bec Tero 0-2 Bangkok Glass

Khon Kaen 1-1 Pattaya

Samut Songkram 0-4 PEA Buriram

Navy 1-1 TTM Pichit

Buriram PEA opened up a 6 point lead at the top of the TPL after a comfortable 4-0 victory at Samut Songkram. Frank Ohandza bagged a hat-trick for the Provincial Electric Authority.

Elsewhere, Thai Port earned a decent point up at Chiang Rai while TOT left it late at Sriracha by scoring goals in the 87th and 90th minute to win the contest 2-0. 

Division 1

PTT Rayong 1-1 Raj-Pracha

Buriram FC 2-1 Suphanburi

Chiang Mai 2-4 Songkhla

Chanthaburi  1-1 Phuket

Thai Honda 3-3 RBAC

Customs United 0-1 JW Rangsit

Saraburi 0-1  BBCU

Bangkok FC 1-3 Bangkok United

Air Force 1-3 Chainat

A goal 4 minutes from time, was enough to keep BBCU top of the league. They'll be delighted to have come away from Saraburi with 3 points.

The game that sounds like a big city Bangkok derby, but in fact isn't, ended Bangkok FC 1-3 Bangkok Utd. The away team's 3 goals came from their French Algerian midfielder, Romain Gasmi. 


The basement battle was a high scoring 3-3 draw between Thai Honda and RBAC. Both teams would have seen this as a must win game and will most likely be disappointed with only a solitary point each. 

Air Force United's season has yet to take off. They went down at home to Chainat 1-3.

Division 2 (Selected fixtures)

RajVithi 1-0 NRSU

Nontaburi 0-1 North Bangkok

Samut Prakarn Utd 0-2 Kasetsart

Chamchuri 2-0 Prachinburi

The big losers this week were Prachinburi as they suffered their second consecutive defeat. The other 3 promotion candidates all won. 

Watching Thai Footy on TV

For me Sunday afternoons are usually spent lying on the sofa nursing a hangover watching UK downloads or American TV series with a quirky cop in them. In all honesty I’m just waiting until the live Thai football is broadcast in the evening. 

This season True Visions has bought the rights to screen live games from the TPL. They show the majority of the TPL games and most weeks they’ll screen the big game of the round on True Sport 2. From what I’ve seen and heard, True are doing a reasonably good job of broadcasting the Thai football. 

Unfortunately you have to pay a subscription to True Visions and for most Thai football fans that prices them out of viewing the games.

I don’t have that problem but my apartment won’t allow anybody to connect to True Visions so I can’t get access to most of the Thai games. In retrospect, it’s probably doing me a favor as football apart, the rest of the True Visions package is garbage and the 1500 or so Baht saved can be better spent elsewhere.

My apartment does however have the Charoen cable installed. Until recently I had the option of Football Siam (FBS), T-Sports and the terrestrial NBT 11. 

The excellent FBS was binned a couple of weeks ago by the cable company as it only had the rights to 1^st Division games this season. For a footballing anorak like myself, watching 1st division games was great. Now in place of FBS, I’ve got Man Yoooo Tee Wee dubbed in Thai. I’ve got nothing against Manchester United but I’ve got no desire to watch re-runs of Eric Cantona’s 10 greatest goals or listen to expert punditry from the out-of-date Paddy Crerand.

That leaves my options for live football as T-Sports and NBT 11. T-Sports is just about bearable. Their games usually involve one of the top 5 teams. They do have the odd commercial break during the action and it’s obvious that the commentary is being done from the 2 pundits watching the TV monitors in the studio.

More Bloody Adverts (guardian.co.uk)

So that leaves us with NBT 11. When it comes to selecting the fixtures, NBT 11 must have last dibs as they regularly serve up delights such as Khon Kaen v Samut Songkram or TOT v Siam Navy. Even diehard followers of Thai football struggle to get excited about games like these.  In addition to having the worst games, their coverage is annoyingly peppered with commercial breaks. Whenever there is a lull in play, up pops a cheery Thai girl with a high pitched voice advertising some brand of shampoo or some other crap like that. They only seem to have 3 commercials which are played in a loop and by about 30 minutes into the game, I’m ready to stick my foot through the TV.

So that’s the options I have for watching live Thai football on TV. To be honest, I much prefer going to the actual games anyway. It’s always more fun soaking up the atmosphere and you can see so much more of what’s going on at the game than you can at home. The only advantage TV has is that you can see replays of major incidents.

BEC Tero 0-2 Bangkok Glass

 

The Bangkok Glass fans

Bangkok Glass moved above BEC Tero Sasana after a tough fought 2-0 victory at the Thephasadin Stadium.

The first half was an even affair with defences on top. The best chance of the opening period fell to BG's Sarayoot. The Thai hit man's shot clipped the bar from the edge of the box but he knows he should have done better as he had an unchallenged run in on goal.

BEC Tero started brightly in the second and only a point blank save from the BG goalie prevented  Akkarapol from opening the scoring.

Sutee

The turning point of the game was a cruel piece of luck for Bangkok Glass. Their second half sub, Sutee, was barely on the pitch for 5 minutes when an innocuous clash of heads in the box with Jetsada left the BG man sparked out. The game was held up for 7 minutes while the Thai international received treatment and he was eventually stretchered off. The injury looked serious and I hope that Sutee will recover quickly.

His replacement, Wichaya was only on the pitch for 2 minutes when he broke the deadlock after a neat move.

Almost immediately it was 2-0 for the Glass Rabbits as the unfortunate Jetsada headed an own goal. It looked like something you'd see in Sunday league football and you have to wonder if he was still suffering from the clash of heads with Sutee.

That was basically the end of the action as BG held out comfortably for the remaining quarter of an hour.

Bangkok Glass have been heavily criticised this season by their own support but today I thought they got it spot on tactically. If they can play like this every week, then there is no reason why they can't finish in the top 4.

Attendance: 4,885

Thephasadin Stadium - BEC Tero v BG (Preview)

http://www.worldfootball.net

The Thephasadin Stadium sat in the shadows of the Supasalasai National Stadium is currently home to TPL side BEC Tero Sasana and Division 2 side Bangkok Christian.  It has to be said though, that it is one of my least favorite stadiums in Thailand. In reality, it shouldn’t be this way. The stadium is centrally located and has great access to public transport.  The opportunity for a pre/post match pint or two in one of the air-con pubs of Sukhumvit or Silom is reachable by the skytrain in roughly 10 minutes. With an abundance of shopping centers close-by, it’s a great place for wifey to go out shopping for a couple of hours if you fancy some time alone at the football.

Plenty legroom

So why do I dislike the stadium? Well, anybody over 160cm tall who’s been there will tell it’s a tight squeeze sitting in the cramped seats. Wherever you sit in the Thephasadin, it's virtually impossible to get comfortable or even have a decent view. There is a running track around the pitch and sitting in the two small stands on either side of it makes you feel like you’re miles away from the pitch.  If you’re sat in the middle part of the main stand the dugouts block the view, while the quieter seats towards the ends give you a good view of the corner flag but little else. And while you’re sat there in your cramped seat struggling to watch the game, the loudest PA system in Thailand is on hand to blast your ears with useless information from the squawking, overexcited compares. 

As the only decent game in Bangkok today is BEC Tero v Bangkok Glass, it's a trip to the Thephasadin for me this evening. It should be a good game and I predict that BecTero will be too strong for the Glass Rabbits.

Weekend Preview 21/22 May

TPL

Sriracha v TOT

Chiang Rai v Thai Port

Sisaket v Osotspa Saraburi

Bec Tero v Bangkok Glass

Khon Kaen v Pattaya

Samut Songkram v PEA Buriram

Navy v TTM Pichit

The reduced fixture list means that the top clash of the weekend will be between BEC Tero and Bangkok Glass at the Thepsadin Stadium. The Fire Dragons have won 5 in a row at home and will be looking to beat a Bangkok Glass team which has struggled on the road. Their only win away from the Leo Stadium came at TTM Pichit last month.

Thai Port face the long trek up to Chiang Rai while TOT travel to play a Sriracha side that must be brimming with confidence after 2 consecutive wins. Both Thai Port and TOT have 13 points and are only 2 points above the relegation places. Goal scoring has been the problem for both sides and this needs to be addressed if they are to avoid being sucked into the relegation battle.

Division 1

PTT Rayong v Raj-Pracha

Buriram FC v Suphanburi

Chiang Mai v Songkhla

Chanthaburi   v Phuket

Thai Honda v RBAC

Customs United v JW Rangsit

Saraburi v  BBCU

Bangkok FC v Bangkok United

Air Force v Chainat

New league leaders BBCU have a tough game away to Saraburi. They are currently unbeaten and will most likely be happy if they can come away from Saraburi Stadium with that record intact. 

Ex Muangthong coach, Rene Desaeyere, takes his latest team, Suphanburi, to Buriram FC on Saturday. Rene has made it no secret that he has not been impressed with refereeing decisions on his past visits to the Thunder Castle. 

The battle of the Bangkoks will take place in Bang Mot on Sunday. Both sides are in a decent run of form so a draw may be on the cards.

Division 2 (Selected fixtures)

RajVithi v NRSU

Nontaburi v North Bangkok

Samut Prakarn Utd v Kasetsart

Chamchuri v Prachinburi

Toyota League Cup Qualifying - Results

Kasetsart 1-0 Assumption
NSRU 0-3 Jamjuree
RajVithi 4-5Prachinburi (after penalties)
Bkk Christian 4-1Thai Fleet
Samut Prakarn Utd 2-3 Kasem Bundit
Nontaburi 1-2 Globex
Maptaput Marine 1-0 Thai Air Luk Issan

Toyota League Cup 2011

The Toyota League Cup qualifying round will be played tomorrow. This only involves Division 2 teams and the ties will be one leg only.

The draw for the Bangkok region is:

Kasetsart v Assumption
NSRU v Jamjuree
RajVithi v Prachinburi
Bkk Christian v Thai Fleet
Samut Prakarn Utd v Kasem Bundit
Nontaburi v Globex
Maptaput Marine v Thai Air Luk Issan

The Toyota League Cup was introduced halfway through last season. It received a mixed reaction as the two legged ties caused massive fixture congestion towards the end of last season.
In my opinion, it's a good trophy to win. Last season's winners, Thai Port, received 5million Baht for winning it. In comparrison, Chonburi only banked 1 million Baht for lifting the FA Cup.

Games Cancelled

Army v Chonburi and Police v Muangthong have both been postponed next Sunday to allow both sides to prepare for the following midweek AFC Cup games.
A victory for PEA away to Samut Songkram next week would see them open a 6 point lead on Chonburi and a 15 point one on Muangthong.

The Army v Chonburi game has been rescheduled for 25th June.

Weekend Round-up 14/15 May

TPL

Thai Port  0-0 Sisaket

Muangthong 1-0 BEC Tero

Pattaya 0-1 Police Utd

Chonburi 6-1 Khon Kaen

TTM Pichit 1-0 Army Utd

Buriram PEA 3-2 Navy

Samut Songkram 3-1 TOT

Osotspa Saraburi 1-2 Sriracha

Bangkok Glass 3-2 Chiang Rai

PEA Buriram and Bangkok Glass both scored 2 injury time goals each to turn around potential upsets.

Muangthong also left it late and the only goal of the game was scored in the 83rd minute by Jakkraphan.
At the PAT, Thai Port were held to a goalless draw by Sisaket while the Army lost to struggling TTM Pichit.

Division 1 

Raj 1-1 Air Force
Chainat 2-1 Buriram
Suphanburi 2-2 Chantaburi
FC Phuket 0-2 Saraburi
JW Rangsit 3-2 Thai Honda
RBAC 0-2 Bangkok FC
BBCU 4-2 SP Customs
Bangkok Utd 3-1 Chiang Mai
Songkla 1-1 PTT Rayong

BBCU have taken outright lead over Buriram after the Volcanoes imploded with their first defeat of the season against Chainat. In keeping with the late goal theme, Chainat scored their winner in the 88th minute. 
RBAC's first victory last week seems to have been a flash in the pan as they tamely lost at home to Bangkok FC.

Kasetsart 2-0 North Bangkok University

Kasetsart won a hard fought 2-0 victory over promotion rivals North Bangkok. The game was played on a soaked pitch which caused players to slip and slide all over the place.

The home side got off to a flying start and was ahead after only 2 minutes. An in swinging free-kick was fumbled by the Nth Bkk keeper and Kaset’s number 4, Arun (not sure of correct English spelling), was left with a tap-in to open the scoring. The same player added a second midway through the first half after a good counter attacking move. He was presented with another tap-in as the keeper could only parry his initial shot and that left the Kasetsart midfielder with an easy task to complete his brace. Kasetsart continued to look dangerous on the break while the away team didn’t offer much in the first 45 minutes.

Nonetheless, NBkk were much improved after the break and dominated the half both possesion wise and territorially. A combination of stout defending, time wasting and poor finishing kept the Horsemen at bay though. At the end, Kasetsart were relieved to hear the final whistle. The win leaves them only 3 points behind the leaders RajVithi. 

Division 2 (Bangkok) Table after 11 games:

1. RajVithi 24pts

2. North Bkk 22pts

3. Prachinburi 21pts

4. Kasetsart 21pts

5. Nontaburi 17pts

The goals can be viewed on this link:

http://sstv.siamsport.co.th/Football_Clip/viewclip_00023297.html
 

Kasetsart v North Bangkok University - Preview

 

A victory for North Bangkok today would send them to the top of the league. They would leapfrog RajVithi who went top yesterday after a 1-0 victory over fellow promotion chasers Prachinburi. 
This game was originally scheduled to be a home game for North BKK but their new stadium isn't ready yet, so the game was switched to Kasetsart. 

Kasetsart have drawn their last 2 games and need a win if they want to keep track of the leading pack. It won’t be easy as North BKK have the meanest defence in the league. They’ve only conceded 3 goals from 10 matches.

I’ll be going to the game so a match report will follow later.

AFC Cup - Last 16 Draw

Both Thai clubs have home ties for the last 16 as a reward for finishing top of their qualifying group.
Muang Thong United are at home to Al Ahed (Lebanon) while Chonburi will entertain Sriwijaya (Indonesia).

The rest of the draw is:
Nasaf (UZB) v Al Faisaly (JOR)
Duhok (IRQ) v Dempo (IND)
Arbil (IRQ) v Tampines Rovers (SIN)
Al Qadsia (KUW) v Kuwait SC (KUW)
Al Wehdat (JOR) v Shurtan (UZB)
Song Lam Nghe An (VIE) Persipura Jayapura (IDN)

Ties will be played on the 24th and 25th May.

The Season So Far

Thai Premier League

The 2011 Thai Premier League Championship has already become a two-horse race between PEA Buriram and Chonburi. Most Thai football experts are tipping PEA to be the eventual champions, but for the sake of entertainment, I hope that Chonburi can hold on to the PEA coattails and keep the title race interesting.

The reigning two times champions Muangthong Utd, have been inconsistent and currently sit in 6^th place. Looking at the positives so far, they’ve kept 8 clean sheets out of 11 and are unbeaten at home. On the flip side of the coin, they’ve only won once away from the Thunderdome and have only scored 13 goals in 11 games. That’s definitely not the form of champions!! Thong’s best chance of a trophy could be the AFC cup. Last season they reached the semi-final of the competition and will be hoping that the experience learned from last year can help them lift the cup this time around.

Bangkok Glass and Thai Port have both had disappointing campaigns so far. Bangkok Glass are mid-table while Thai Port are hovering just above the relegation zone. BG have been very inconsistent and many of the BG faithful aren’t happy with the lackluster performances they’ve had to endure this season. Thai Port’s troubles have been of their own making. The boardroom battle between Super Rich and Port Authority has deeply affected morale in the camp. Also the failure to replace star striker Jo has seen the goals dry up with only 9 from 11 games.

Other local teams BEC Tero, Police United and Army United are all currently in the top 5. That’s a vast improvement from last season and a top 5 placing would be a decent finish for any of these teams. On current form TOT would be in the top 5 with them, but after losing their first 5 games, I’m sure they’ll currently be happy with the 13th position they occupy just now.

1^st Division

Similar to the TPL, the 1^st division has developed into a two-horse race between Buriram FC and BBCU. They are both unbeaten and sit on 30 points, and are 11 points clear of 4^th placed Songkla. As 3 teams will be promoted, both are looking odds on to be playing with the big boys next season. The remaining place could go to any one of about 8 teams. Bangkok United will be hoping to be that team and make a swift return to the TPL.

Air Force United are 5 points off promotion and 5 points off relegation. They have the league’s top goalscorer, Anusak, so the Airmen will need him to keep banging in the goals if they want to join the promotion chasing pack.

RBAC, Thai Honda, Bangkok FC and JW Rangsit are all firmly set in the relegation battle. With 4 teams being relegated, we could see at least 2 or 3 of them dropping down to Division 2. RBAC are almost certain to go down with Thai Honda looking likely to join them. Bangkok and JW Rangsit will both be happy to remain in Division 1 after being promoted from the Bangkok Regional league last year.

2^nd Division (Bangkok)

After 10 games, North Bangkok Uni and Prachinburi occupy the top 2 spots. Amazingly, both have only played one home game each and 9 away games due to home ground reconstruction. With an abundance of home games to come, both must be feeling confident of reaching the Division 2 Champions League playoff. Rajvithi and Kasetsart appear to be the other contenders although Samutprakarn United, Bangkok Christian and Nontaburi could come into contention if they can hit a run of form.

Weekend Preview 14/15 May

The most intriguing game of the weekend will be at the Yamaha Stadium between Muangthong United and BEC Tero. There will be a bit of added spice to the game as BEC signed several players from Muangthong during the close season. Ex MTU striker Ronnachai, has been finding the net regularly since moving to BEC Tero at the beginning of the year. He became surplus to requirements at the Yamaha and I’m sure he’ll be out to prove a point to his former team. Interestingly, the renowned Thai goalscorer, Anon, moved across town in the other direction. He was banging in goals left, right and center for BEC but so far he hasn’t recaptured his BEC Tero form and only has a couple of goals to his name. It will be a close game but I can see the home side nicking it by the odd goal.

In the first division, the game that catches my eye is the RBAC v Bangkok FC one on Sunday. RBAC have been abysmal this season but they’ll be encouraged after last week’s victory over Chiang Mai. Their first win was achieved in monsoon conditions and they were fortunate the game wasn’t postponed as the pitch was basically a quagmire. I guess RBAC will be hoping for similar monsoon conditions at their Ladprao 107 home on Sunday. On the other hand, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Bangkok FC must be sick of the sight of rain as a recent home game with FC Phuket was abandoned due to unplayable conditions with minutes left on the clock. At that stage Bangkok were leading 5-2 and were bitterly disappointed when the ref abandoned the match. Bangkok FC have improved in recent weeks and they’ll see this game as a great opportunity for 3 points.

TPL Fixtures

Saturday 14^th May

Thai Port v Sisaket

Muangthong v BEC Tero

Pattaya v Police Utd

Chonburi v Khon Kaen

Sunday 15^th May

TTM Pichit v Army Utd

Buriram PEA v Navy

Samut Songkram v TOT

Osotspa Saraburi v Sriracha

Bangkok Glass v Chiang Rai

About Me

I am a UK expat currently living in Bangkok.  I’ve been following football for as long as I can remember. The 2 teams which I support back home are Falkirk and Newcastle United. Over the years both have given me more heartache than joy. When I first came to Thailand in 2002, the Thai football league was mainly made up of military and corporate teams and was only watched by a handful of spectators. Over the last couple of years, the Thai game has boomed and nowadays some games attract more than 10,000 spectators. So far I haven’t nailed my colours to any particular Thai team, but as I live in the capital city I tend to favour the teams based in the Bangkok region.  For this blog I will mainly concentrate on giving news, match reports, thoughts and rants about the teams based in Bangkok and its environs.  I also plan to give updates on the Thai national team and have the occasional look at other leagues around the world.