Gibbons hat-trick seals City’s fate in local derby

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Bangkok Casuals Football League 2012/13

Pattaya City met local rivals F.C. Planet last weekend in a much anticipated local derby match.  Planet went into the game lying second in the table but City were full of confidence after their fine win the previous week and started out strongly, with two good runs by Vorontsov on the left which brought two fine saves by the Planet keeper at the foot of the post.

Planet replied with forward Gibbons shooting wide from a good position but City still had the Planet goal under pressure at the other end, however the chances went begging.  Planet came back strongly but they too missed easy chances and play was end to end with the game being played at a very fast pace.  In one of Planet’s attacks, City could not clear their lines and paid the price when the ball fell to Gibbons who side footed the ball home to make it 1-0.

From the restart both teams continued to miss bucket loads of chances as the defenses creaked under pressure.  Just before the break, Planet’s keeper brought off a superb double save when City’s Dipta produced some magic to beat three defenders and centered the ball straight into the path of Jannson whose volley and subsequent follow-up were both brilliantly saved to keep the score Planet 1 City 0 at half time.

At the start of the second period, Planet attacked the City defense and scored their second goal within five minutes as the City defense stood and watched while Ainscough side-footed the ball home following a good passing move by Planet.  City were not taking it lying down though and attacked Planet’s goal in numbers and pulled a goal back through Vorontson after a fine five-man move to make the score 2-1.

The second half was just like the first, fast and furious with chances by both sides being missed, but slowly Planet took the advantage and missed a glut of chances as City’s players began to tire.  The City goal came under siege and it was no surprise when Gibbons extended Planet’s lead, scoring with a shot from just outside of the area, and it got worse for City as Dumbia added a fourth soon after when he lobbed the keeper from the half-way line.

Planet still had to be careful as dangerous breakaways by City kept the keeper on his toes, but he proved equal to the task and soon after Gibbons put the icing on his own personal cake to score his third and his team’s fifth goal following good work by Ainscough.

The drama was not yet over however as Planet’s Paul Darbyshire was pulled down in the area when there appeared to be no threat on the goal, but the penalty was fired wide of the post to keep the score 5-1.

This was an exciting football match and with all the chances that both teams had the score line could easily have been 10-10.  City will need to rebound quickly from the defeat as they are playing at Laem Chabang this coming weekend at the earlier kick off time of 2-30p.m.