Muangthong United 1 Sisaket 0

I was at another game, so this report is credit to muangthongunitedreplay.wordpress.com.....


Goals: Dangda (59′)
First off, I had to resist the very strong urge to type “Sisaket Diving Club” in the scoreline above. Orange-clad players tumbling over at the slightest contact mixed with inconsistent refereeing made for a stop-and-go game at Yamaha Stadium.
Around 21,700 fans came out, including a very large crowd of Sisaket supporters. Their numbers easily matched that of Buriram. Muangthong supporters packed the rest of the stadium making the atmosphere raucous and energetic.
From the beginning Sisaket were content to let Muangthong have possession and play bunker-ball. They usually had 1 or 2 strikers up in the attacking half, looking for a counter attack that never came. The few attempts never materialized into a decent threat.
Muangthong attacked consistently, but between flopping Sisaket players, the referee’s whistle, and a midfield missing its passing game, chance after chance came and went.
In the second half it seemed Sisaket weren’t interested in having possession, and the Qilins applied the pressure. 2 shots hit the frame, and some shots flew just a bit high and just a bit wide. MTU were edging closer and the anticipation was building up in the crowd. Finally, in the 59th minute, a shot from Dangda ricocheted off the post across the goal mouth to the endline, where Jakkraphan Pornsai chipped a low cross to the middle of the 6 yard box. A diving header right in front of the goalie from Dangda sent in what would be the game winner. The crowd erupted, and the only other time I’ve heard the stadium that loud was when Datsakorn Thonglao scored the first goal against Al Kamarah in the AFC Cup.
United tried to apply pressure, but Sisaket flew into attack mode in search of the equalizer. Thankfully this push wouldn’t reap any reward. The last 10 minutes Muangthong struggled to contain the Sisaket attack, while the guards attempted to contain a few Sisaket supporters tearing at the advertisements and throwing water bottles and trash on the pitch.
In stoppage time an odd event took place during a player substitution. The fourth official held up the board indicating that Anon Sangsanoi would be substituted. But as Anon reached the sideline, Coach Calisto yanked away the substitute, thrust Anon back onto the pitch, and proceeded to yell in the face of the fourth official in such a manner that I’m surprised he didn’t get sent off. Someone needs to explain the Thai concept of ‘Jai Yen‘ to Mr. Calisto…
The botched substitution and the thrown garbage were an odd way to end an odd match. But 3 points earned nevertheless.

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