Bangkok Glass 5 BBCU 2
Despite the close season arrival of the highly respected coach Surachai, Bangkok Glass came into this game seemingly reverting to type as flatterers who eventually deceive. Starting the season impressively undefeated in the first eight games, including consecutive draws with Chonburi and Muang Thong, the last five games have seen two defeats and two draws with only one win, against a Thai Port then in seemingly terminal decline. But if there’s one team the Glass Rabbits would want to face it’s sixteenth placed BBCU whose last thirteen games brought only one win.
But when the game started, it was the Glass Rabbits who looked disjointed. Choosing to start with the Leesaw/ Lang glamour axis, the home side were giving former BG and MT battler Sylla time on the ball and he was relishing the chance to structure most of the Chula attacking play. He had chance to say thank you for his freedom of the park on nineteen minutes when a free kick from the left was met by the popular Guinean with a header that bounced in off his knee. He had the good grace to apologise to his former fans, but this was BG of old who allow soft goals by switched off thinking.
One good sign for Thai football happened on thirty two minutes when BBCU’s Saran was forced by the referee to move off the pitch for medical attention. We can only hope this is a sign of things to come.
Only two minutes later, BG were level when a beautiful ball from Peeraphong found Samuel with plenty of work to do, but he had the strength and determination to shake off his marker and slam in the equalizer. Soon after, Chatree received a beautiful ball from the goal scorer down the left, but BBCU’s keeper Beyeme dived bravely at his feet to intercept. The balance was beginning to alter now, but Sylla continued to enjoy time and space to orchestrate most of BBCU’s moves. But, on forty seven minutes BG would take the lead when, despite being in an offside position, Valery was able to score from a free kick delivered from the BG right.
In the second half, Sylla began to be starved of quality possession and the game’s orchestrator moved from Guinea to Nigeria’s Samuel. On 53 minutes his powerful and precise shot from the edge of the area should have sealed the result, but this being BG, there were plenty more twists to come. Fifteen minutes later, BBCU’s substitute Chainarong scored a screamer from the edge of the area to set up the usual heebeegeebees for BG. The advantage was to swing back to the home side though, when a needless second yellow for an arm across the onrushing Leesaw meant BBCU’s Nanthaphon had to go. The away side continued to look dangerous, but the extra pace injected by substitute Saruta soon told and he slotted coolly home in the eightieth minute, although BBCU’s keeper will be very disappointed to be beaten so easily at the front post. There was still time for a Leesaw header on 85 minutes to put a gloss on the result and give him a chance to display his bizarre hair sweeping routine, but this was another day on the roller coaster for fans of a club that hate to live the easy life.
Matt Riley
