Bangkok Casuals Football League Div 1 & 2
Pattaya City FC, whose game was cancelled at the very last minute the previous week due to a downpour and the pitch being water logged, were looking for a good win to forward their title chances last weekend against the struggling French team Les Gaulois.
City forced the early play in the game and a shot by Earnest Dipita hit the bar from the right side of the penalty area. A great pass by City midfielder Craig Banks then found centre forward Aleksei Ivanov who made no mistake to make it 1-0 to the home team.
It took the French twenty minutes to have their first shot on the City goal but it went high and wide and at the other end City continued to pile on the pressure with good open football and they went 2-0 when the ball was worked through a static French defense, with City’s Yannick Gwabou getting the final touch.
Soon after a curling centre/shot from Dipita was missed by the French keeper but was kicked off the line by a desperate defender and the loose ball fell to City’s Tchuite whose shot just went the wrong side of the post.
On a rare attack the French caught out the City defense and with only the keeper to beat, the forward chipped the ball over the bar.
From a corner kick City’s centre half Phillip Walter then saw his first time shot slam against the post and then the French keeper was forced into a brilliant save by City’s Tchuite to stop City from going further ahead. Just before half time the French took a quick free kick which caught out the City defenders but the City keeper made a great diving save to keep the score 2-0 until the break.
In the second half City soon had the chance to go further ahead when a ball from Thioma found Alexsei Ivanov who jinxed his way past two defenders but unluckily shot wide. The same player then received a pass from Earnest Dipita and ran through the French defense to score and make it 3-0.
The French were now getting desperate and City’s Aleksei Ivanov was brought down by the French keeper from behind and it earned him a red card. Ivanov then skipped around a defender and met a through ball from Craig Banks to slot the ball into the net to score his hat-trick and City’s fourth goal.
Les Gaulois made one final attack and were awarded a penalty when their forward was pushed off the ball, but a brilliant diving save by the City keeper Narcisse Yongui made sure that City kept a clean sheet with the final score being 4-0.
This was the best performance by a City side for a long time but they have yet to reach peak form and will need to if they are to become champions.
The City Res game was cancelled due to other commitments by the opposing team but they had a terrific result against second place Siam Celtic on a water sodden pitch the previous week. The Res had 70% of the play but from all their chances the ball just refused to go into the net but it was a good point to take away. Both teams are at home at the Thai Polo Club this coming weekend with the earlier kick off at 2-30 p.m.
