Chonburi 1-2 Samut Songkhram

Samut Songkhram upset the apple cart as their surprise 2-1 victory inflicted Chonburi's first home defeat of the season.

Early pressure

Pipob nodded the Blue Sharks infront after 10 minutes after he latched onto a cross from the left that had been headed back across goal by Diakite. Replays show that the Chonburi striker was a yard offside as he netted.

After the goal, it looked like it would be a routine victory for the title challengers, but they were dealt a body blow on the half hour mark as Chonburi's covering right back, Kushida, was easily brushed off the ball by Zezinando, and the Portuguese man cut back for Decha to level matters. 

Chonburi's early zest was waring off, and shortly before the break, the Mae Klong side stunned the home support as Narat went alone to give the relegation threatened side a 2-1 half time lead.

Sending off

Ten minutes after the break, Samut Songkram were reduced to 10 men after Lee Han Kuk was shown two yellow cards within the space of a few seconds. The first was for back heeling the ball away after a free kick had been awarded to Chonburi and the second was for a light push on the ref. Both very soft, but under the letter of the law, the Korean should really have had no complaints.

No way through

Despite the man advantage, Chonburi never forced Puthasas into a save although Diakite and Pipob (twice) went close with glancing headers as the away side defended resolutely.

It was a precious win for Samut Songkhram and if they keep playing like this they should avoid the drop.

For Chonburi fans, it was a frustrating evening as they wasted a golden opportunity to close the gap on TPL leaders Muangthong United.

Police United 1-2 Chonburi

Second half goals from Nattapong and Adul helped Chonburi come from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over Police United at the Army Stadium.

Chakrit Buathong was alert early doors to pounce on a defensive mix up between Diakite and Nattapong to give the Crimson Cops the lead on seven minutes.

With Therdsak and Pipob doing time on the bench, Chonburi really struggled to get any flow to their game going as Police comfortably saw out the first half 1-0 in front.

The introduction of the old stagers for the second half certainly livened things up, but the Sharks were grateful to Diakite as he cleared a goal bound shot at the back post on 55 minutes.

On the hour mark, Chonburi levelled when Nattapong neatly controlled a looping cross on his chest before blasting it into the roof of the net.

After the equalizer, Chonburi certainly had a bit more impudence about their play and looked the more likely winners, but they had a couple of scares while the clock was ticking down as a Prakorn free-kick and a Assaming shot flew inches wide of the target for Police.

Pipob's header did hit the top of the bar from a corner on the 87th minute, yet the late drama wasn't finished as the second half sub's short pass cut through the Police back line and Adul netted from an acute angle to win the three points for the Sharks.

At 1-0, Police seemed content to sit on their lead and were happy to call for the stretcher boys to waste time when they should have been trying to double their advantage. For anybody familiar with the TPL, there are no prises for guessing who the prime suspect was. The Insee are dropping close to the relegation zone, but with an abundance of home games to come in the second leg, they should be able to secure their predicted mid-table finish.

For Chonburi, even the most optimistic of the Blue Bloods would sympathize that the TPL is out of their reach this season. However, I'm sure most of them would concur that you always start with your strongest 11 no matter who your opponents are. Chonburi's rotation policy got out of jail tonight, but on other nights they might not be so fortunate.

Army United 2-1 Chonburi

Army United booked their place in the last 8 of the Thai FA Cup as they knocked out current holders Chonburi 2-1.

The Bangkok side produced one of their best performances since the early days of the season to beat a sluggish looking Chonburi side.

Army United had the better of the first half, but they failed to pierce the Shark's rearguard early on as their final ball from midfield lacked quality and they kept getting caught offside.

On 33 minutes, Army's attacking persistence paid off when Leandro impishly got between the two Chonburi central defenders and managed to squeeze a shot under Sintaweechai's body. The current Thai number one will be disappointed that he didn't keep out the Brazilians effort.

After the break, Chonburi made a couple of changes and their game improved. The Sharks had a couple of half chances, but the Army seemed to be whittling the clock down with the aid of constant treatment for injured players.

Just as the Blue Blood had almost given up hope, Pipob popped up with one of his customary headers to level matters with 5 minutes left on the clock.

The relief of the travelling support only lasted a couple minutes as second half substitute, Kraisorn, broke free of the Chonburi defence and coolly slotted the ball into the net for the winner.

With virtually the last kick of the game,  Leandro received his second yellow card for petulantly blocking a Chonburi free-kick in their own half from 2 yards. That dismissal may come back to haunt the Home of Gentlemen in the next round.

Despite their antics, Army United deserved the win and they'll be hoping that they can carry this form over to the league performances.

As for Chonburi, their four pronged attack on the TPL, TLC, AFC Cup an FA Cup has unfortunately disappeared. It's now time to rebuild and focus on the 2012 season.

Army United 3-4 Chonburi

Don't smoke, Don't throw bottles, Don't show banana!!

Army United lost by the odd goal in 7 in a thrilling match against Chonburi at the Royal Thai Army Stadium.

The Chonburi Sharks are always good value for money to watch and tonight they deserved the 3 points.

First blood went to Army Utd when Leandro nipped in between 2 defenders to poke a cross into the net. Ney Fabiano levelled a few minutes later with a header.

After that, the Sharks forced several corners but failed to convert any of them.

Chonburi took command of the game with 2 goals either side of half-time. The first was scored by Suree after a trade mark run from right back. He latched onto a through ball and rounded the keeper to give the away side a 2-1 lead at the break. Pipob headed the third just after the interval to move Chonburi into pole position.

The game looked to be petering out to a 3-1 win for Chonburi. That changed when second half substitute, Madengue Emmanual, scored with a header to reduce the deficit with 20 minutes left on the clock.

The Sharks were holding on to their lead pretty comfortably but there was always the feeling that the Army could nick an equalizer. However, the game was put to bed on the stroke of 90 minutes when Anucha beat the offside trap to score a fourth.

Leandro scored a penalty with virtually the last kick of the game to add some respectability to the result for the home side. That goal means he is now joint TPL scorer along with Bangkok Glass' Sarayoot.

Kick off - Chonburi fans on time!

The official attendance was announced as 11,328. In my opinion that was very generous as I thought there were only about 6,000 present tonight. Last season, the Army were doing well to get a tenth of that figure. It's great to see support for TPL teams increasing, but I wish that the new breed of Army fans would realize that the game kicks off at 6pm. Many of them were still wandering into the stadium 20 or 30 minutes into the game. The Chonburi fans made the 90 km journey and could still make it on time for kick off.

After tomorrow's game between Muangthong and Sisaket, the TPL will take a one month siesta and will resume on the 30th of July. In between now and then, there will still be Toyota League Cup and FA Cup games for the big boys to play.

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