Muangthong 2 Nakhon Ratchasima 1 Match Report

Soaked in victory

(Credit: MTUTD X account)

The vibe at Muangthong’s Impact Stadium lives and dies by whatever is happening next door at the Impact Centre. It’s a dynamic that has held true since the glory years: when a major car show or a K-pop sensation rolls into town, the walkways transform into a human tide, and you have to be genuinely ruthless just to secure a seat at a swamped Burger King.

Yet, when Songkran arrives, the switch flips. The sprawling exhibition halls fall into a ghostly silence, inhabited only by skeleton crews and security guards on graveyard shifts, wandering through darkened, un-airconditioned corridors. It is always a game of extremes at Muangthong and in many ways, that feels like the only appropriate backdrop for the local football club.

It's another decent turnout for the footie though and the team news is met with interest. The defence is a good choice although I'm always slightly apprehensive when I see Tontov on the team sheet for reasons I've mentioned before: it very much depends on the type of player he's up against. It's good to see Kempster back in full throttle however and even better to see Killer Kim back at CLB. The middle also looks ideal with Annas at deep midfield - I refuse to adopt this modern practice of describing a players role simply with a number like "number six" - and Kakana playing further up.

The forward line picks itself now that Melvin is injured and Saric is our only natural striker. Fans have had a lot to say about Saric since he joined and much of it has been unfair. It's true he is no Erling Haaland and he hasn't always been effective but to my mind part of the problem is that his style of play isn't a natural fit for us. Saric is the old fashioned type of target man who likes to play with his back to goal and bring other players into the attack. That works best with the traditional "big guy small guy" combo where a nippy poacher plays off the shoulder of the bigger man. We don't play that way since we have Popp and Kakana sitting much wider. Besides, Melvin has hardly been setting the league alight either this season, although he did look good when he came on against Chiang Rai and it would be nice to have him as an option. What's done is done though and we need to focus on winning, not excuses.

We kick off and within seconds it's clear that both teams know what's at stake here and the pressure is creating paralysis. Basic passes from the Kirins go astray and are met with groans. A couple of promising attacks break down because the expected run wasn't made. Korat aren't faring any better though, since their early attack consists of a striker - wearing a number five shirt for some unknown reason - who is chasing everything but looks incredibly limited. His tactic of bundling into centre backs has no effect on Tonktov or Kim and that restricts the visitors to optimistic attacks. At one point it looks to me like Korat get a throw in and chuck it straight back out of play, providing some reassurance they are not feeling any more confident than we are.

At half time it's goalless, a score that was perhaps as inevitable and it was unenviable for both sides. I feel confident the second half will be different but I wonder what tactical changes Borges would make. He's already proven enough for fans to have faith in him.

The second half begins with Muangthong shooting towards the ultras in the south stand who are actually having fun shooting water hoses at themselves. Water, powder and jumping everywhere. It's fantastic but I will always wonder how the cheerleaders don't fall off the platforms more often.

Just as festivities are hitting full swing, the script gets torn up as a Korat player turns one defender (Kim I think) and then nutmegs another before blasting a long range shot inside the post. Korrakut immediately shouted at his defence. He's not the type of keeper to do that usually so he clearly felt something went wrong. Watching it back on youtube, I feel like it was a series of small, soft mistakes: a soft tackle, a soft nutmeg, Tonktov not getting quite close enough to block and the goalie seeing it slightly late despite the range. With that said though, it was an excellent finish and the fifty or so away fans are delighted.

One thing I have noticed throughout this season is that our best attacking play seems to come when we are trailing, which is to say we have been showing a lot of our best when we have already made problems for ourselves. It's the case again tonight as Kakana starts breaking down the right wing more and with Popp drawing two defenders towards him every time he gets the ball, it allows the midfield to start of pushing forward more. We are finding more space as a result but time is running out. In my head I'm telling myself that if we lose, at least I can give up the pain of hoping for a miracle.

We win some corners as we push up. As any fan knows, the modern game has somehow become infested with ridiculous amounts of pushing, jostling and general professional wrestling antics in the box for any corner kick. I don't know exactly when this facade began but I'm sure it never used to be anywhere near this bad. Anyway, as the Korat defence try the usual tricks of pushing and barging, Kim strolls up to one defender, stands literally nose to nose with him and stares deep into his soul. I swear lasers are about to shoot out of his eyes. The defender suddenly decides it's best to keep his hands to himself. Sadly the corner came to nothing.

We're generating some good build up play but the final ball is lacking every time and to be fair, Korat are crowding us out in the box. They need these points every bit as desperately as us. About 70 minutes in we swing in a deep cross from the left and the right centre back of Korat jumps and tries to block the cross. His outstretched foot hits the perfect angle - for us - and loops over his own keeper and into the net. It's one of the most spectacular own goals I've ever witnessed live and suddenly it feels like we may have that little bit of luck we needed. The defender is devastated. He stays on the ground in despair for quite some time. His teammates do exactly the right thing and encourage him to get straight back into the fight but in the heat of the moment, the South Stand do what needs to be done and taunt him some more. It's mean, but this is a relegation battle. After the game everyone from both sides can comfort him and let him know it can happen to any player but right now we are in a fight for our lives and any team in our position needs any edge they can get. Your team's fans would do the same.

It's mostly us on attack now with the visitors looking to punish us on the break but for the most part, they just aren't good enough to do that. There's the usual fake injury nonsense and six minutes of added time is announced as a result. We force one excellent save from their keeper who has had a solid game and in the dying moments we have a mighty goalmouth scramble which ends as they somehow clear a header that was millimeters away from going over the line.

Suddenly play stops and a VAR check is announced. Everything happens quickly when you're chasing a vital game in the dying seconds so I'm not really sure what's going on. To add to the confusion, our scoreboard has several black squares on it restricting the view and the replay is very distant from the action anyway. The ref, flanked by staff from both sides, finishes watching the VAR box and points to the spot. A humongous cheer erupts.

At the time I wasn't sure exactly what happened and I don't think many other 

fans were, either. But on seeing replays

Penalty. Deal with it.

there is absolutely zero doubt. Korat's defender makes a blatant two armed shove on Tonktov. As he does so, the ball hits his right arm. The only objections I've seen talk about "intention". Intention has not been the sole factor for over two years. The rules very clearly state if the arms are in a position to make their body larger that isn't required for a normal movement, it's handball. So unless anyone believes it's normal for a player to jump raising and extending two arms at a ninety degree angle in front of him, then it's a penalty. And that was only reason number one. The ball struck his arm at a trajectory when it was clearly moving towards not one but two home players moving in right behind him who had both been their marker, a clear goalscoring opportunity. Anyone protesting about bias in this one needs to have a word with themselves, especially the Korat player who might face a fine for his IG post after the game.

There's a few players moving to grab the ball and I'll be honest, I am hoping it won't be Saric. There was only ever one real candidate for this moment of glory or agony though and it is of course William "Ox" Popp who stands at the spot. All kinds of mind games are going on as players from both sides stand around the Brazilian. Fans are praying. Players from both sides are praying. I'm fairly sure my dog was praying.

I like to tell myself I'm an old cynic who's seen it all in football. But I can barely watch. Korat players encourage their goalie with fist bumps and slaps on the back. The ref clears the commotion and blows the whistle. Everything becomes slow motion. You could hear a pin drop.

Popp starts a stutter run. The goalie doesn't take the bait.

He drops a shoulder. The goalie still doesn't take the bait.

I'm thinking this is it, he's not sold the stutter step run or shoulder drop. It's going to be a panenka or a miss. I can stop hoping now. We're done.

Popp slots it to the keeper's right. The keeper was clearly expecting the other side and shifts, but not enough. It's in. 

                                                                                                           

                                                                                  
The eruption was electric. The celebrations on the pitch are intense. My voice is still recovering today.

Play continues for a few moments with each clearance being greeted with loud cheers until the ref blows his whistle. Wow, where to start with this one? We weren't at our best today, especially in the first half, but it was the fight and commitment that created the luck we needed to get the win. I've said all season that commitment was never the problem. What was missing was a bit of quality, experience, physical presence and belief. We've addressed all these problems as best as any team can in mid-season. Kim makes a huge difference at the back. His positioning is the best of any defensive player and the fact that he looks like he would happily rip any opponent's head off at any moment is very notable. Popp brings not only the quality of his first touch and reading of the game but also his presence: a club icon that shows commitment and leadership on the pitch even against the odds was exactly what the doctor ordered. He could easily have instructed another player to take that high-pressure penalty today. As a club legend he had less to gain than to lose in that situation but stepped up anyway. That's a leader. The "ban" against Buriram was the right move. That game was a free hit anyway and a 32 year old coming back from a long injury probably needed the rest.

And for belief, Borges has clearly installed that in his players. In the press conference after the game he rightly said that we might not be at the level of Buriram today but we have some things we do very well. It's this type of realism that has got the players believing.

Is it enough to keep us in T1 or is it too late? I see three possibilities. The first is that we get a somewhat surprise win at Choburi and another against BG while our rivals drop lots of points. The second is that the reverse happens: we throw away all our hard work with a couple of sloppy defeats and Sukhothai get the wins. Both of these are possible but unlikely.

The third possibility is the one I predict: that's where we are go into the last game of the season against Sukothai with the winner staying up. Add this to the fact that it's equally possible Southampton go into the final game of the season needing a win to go up, and in the words of Danny Glover: "I'm too old for this sh*t".

Kirins chai-yoo.