Muangthong victorious in intense encounter

Not everyone was left standing on or off the pitch for this one. MTU took the lead after just seven minutes through Teerathep who finished neatly from a good cross.


It seemed to be a cruise as Samutsongkhram were forced to push foreward, but as play evened out, Muangthong started to look a little complacent. The inevitable happened as SS equalised through player number 31 about twenty minutes later. The game threatened to fizzle out, until shorty before half time when a forward of SS (the goalscorer) received his second yellow - an automatic red card offence - for a sneaky little toe poke at Hattaporn.

The game then, paradoxically, erupted as Samutsongkhram players spent the next fifteen minutes complaining, then walking off, then calling all the team staff onto  the pitch to complain to officials. Naturally, fans of both teams began to get riled, but they stayed well behaved. If this had happened in the UK, I'm sure home fans would have been on the pitch, offering to escort the away staff off the turf, and then you have real trouble.

  Photo credit: mooinblack on mtufc.net

As the second half began, SS players threw themselves to the ground like they had been shot by a rifle at every opportunity in an attempt to run down the clock. I began to feel anxious as Muangthong players began to waste chances. We knew Chonburi had won the previous day and  fans started to fear we would let the Premiership title slip away. Then a fantastic scored free kick that would have looked good in a World Cup match from Piyachat (I think, can anyone confirm?) sent the home fans ecstatic.

  Photo credit: mooinblack on mtufc.net

As the rain began to belt down, some fans ran for cover, but the "ultras" and true fans stood firm. The torrential rain must have made the pitch heavier, and ten-man Samutsongkhram finally started to tire and lose shape. Muangthong surged forward in wave after wave, but wasted some incredibly good chances, including a three-on one against the Samut 'keeper.

But it wasn't over, and the fans who stayed put were rewarded with another amazing strike from Piyachat (again, I think it was him but the rain made it hard to see, can anyone confirm?) sent the MTU fans home drenched, but happy.

The rain had already flooded local roads, and your blogger had a long, drenched, shivering cold journey home. But as any football fan will tell you; when your team wins , the journey is always worthwhile.