Dolphins gunned down by late Army strike

A deflected second half free kick from Army United captain Tatree Sing-Ha condemned Pattaya United to their second league defeat in the space of four days last week and left the Dolphins nine points adrift of early league pace-setters Muang Thong United.

Following on from Pattaya’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of BEC Tero Sasana on Wednesday, March 27, the Dolphins entertained Army United at the Nongprue Stadium last Sunday.  The visitors set the pattern of play for most of the first half as they dominated possession and created the majority of the opening chances.  It therefore came as little surprise when Army took the lead in the 33rd minute through a soft scrambled goal by Matthew Mbuta.

Pattaya United take on Army United in their Thai Premier League encounter at the Nongprue Stadium in Pattaya, Sunday, March 31. (Photo courtesy Pattaya United – Offside)

On the stroke of half-time Pattaya suddenly found themselves right back in the game however as their Russian forward Rodion Dyachenko received the ball on the edge of the Army penalty area and twisted and turned past two defenders before firing the ball into the far corner of the net.

The goal seemed to galvanize the Dolphins as in the second half they took the game to their opponents and were unlucky not to score on several occasions, with the Army goalkeeper called into action to keep the scores level.

Then, in the 67th minute, with Pattaya looking the more likely to go on and win the game, Army were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the Dolphins penalty area and up stepped Sing-Ha to fire the ball home with the aid of a wicked deflection off the back of a Pattaya defender that sent keeper Kung Bong-Jun the wrong way.

The defeat leaves Pattaya United with just three points from their opening four fixtures and they will be desperate to get back on winning track when they travel to Chonburi for the local derby match this Saturday, April 6, with kick-off scheduled for 6.30 p.m.