Nonthaburi FC 3 Samut Prakan Utd 0

Whoever on the Nonthaburi FC side struck the deal with MTU to act as a  nursery club is responsible for a huge turnaround at the club.

Toni lines up a volley

It’s not just on-pitch performances that have changed. The crowd at this game was the largest I’ve seen and though the vast majority were in Eka colours, there were Phuket FC and plenty of Muangthong shirts, too. The substitutes wore MTU training tops and the whole set-up has a slightly larger feel to it.

But it’s the pitch that counts and without taking any credit away from a good team performance, there’s no doubt which players made the difference today. SP Utd actually made the brighter start and crafted several good chances but once the Nonthaburi attacking line got started, they ran the show. Jorrin John made a powerful run to set up Alassane for the first goal, Tomi latched on to a superb through ball for the second and Eka’s third goal came again from Alassane after a great run and cross from Nathagun (another MTU youth player) and a lovely little touch from Toni.

Jorrin John - Not easy to shake off the ball

In the second half the side sat back a little though even when SP Utd had chances, they took them very poorly. Towards the end of the game there were incidents that have been edited out in the video below, there were two scuffles in injury time which then sparked one of the most hilarious ‘rage off’ competitions between two coaches I’ve ever seen. Both sets of fans behaved impeccably throughout.

This is the first season ever that Eka have looked likely to score more than once in a game. The distribution and intelligence in the play of the squad has also improved and it would be wrong to give sole credit to the MTU imports of Toni, Alassane and John, but they are certainly the catalyst.

Samut Parakan overcame us with ease last season and were level with us before this game.  This time they were dispatched with relative ease in a ten minute spell of the best attacking football I’ve seen at RL level. At the start of the season I said that Nonthaburi fans would be happy just to have a team, and anything else would be a bonus. This is one heck of a bonus.
Photo credits: Nhong Tim

Opening game lost, new shirts

siamsport.co.th

Eka lost their opening game of 2013 away to Samut Prakan Utd in a Toyota League Cup match. The score was 0 - 2.

Samut Prakan were among the early frontrunners for promotion last season so there is no shame in this defeat. Besides, the away fans were just delighted to have a club and the new squad were looking to gel.

The new squad and new home strip can be seen here.

..and a  preview of the away kit can be seen here:

I love the home kit, though I do wonder what the point was of producing a home kit well over halfway through last season was if it's not being used again. The away kit I think would be fine if we didn't try to keep the club's traditional purple colour on the crest. It clashes with the other colours. I'll probably end up buyiong both though.

Samut Sakhon 0 Nontahburi FC 2 - report and highlights

"It's simple lads, just produce the biggest upset of the season."

Supporters of both sides met for a seven-a-side kickabout at a nearby futsal arena before this game and I played my part by making the 2012 Robbie Fowler look like the 1995 Matt Le Tissier. Evidence of this exists online but will certainly not be published by me! The short trip back to the Samut Sakhon Stadium caused the vast majority of away fans to miss our opening goal, which is why the cheers are so few in the video you see below.

No.25 S.Chattong - has made a huge difference

I’ve been ranting about the need for a target man for Eka for two seasons now, they finally acquired one by the name of Siroch in mid-season and the benefit was obvious not just for his goal but his overall contribution to the team.

A frustrated SS goalie

The goal stunned the home crowd and as expected, the home side and league leaders Samut Sakhon piled on some pressure in response, but the benefit of our new coach was also obvious as we kept calm under pressure and tight on the opposing forwards to deny them space and force them to snatch at chances. I wouldn’t be atall surprised to hear our new coach and his side have studied some videos of England’s defending in Euro 2012 to learn how arguably technically superior teams can be defied by using double-layered defending. We played a similar way today and it paid off.

There were two other important events in the first half. The first was a free kick to Eka in which Samut Sakhon’s no.16 decided to get in the ref’s face, yell at him and (study the clip below at 3:13 carefully) actually jab a finger in the ref’s chest. It earned him a yellow card at the time and would come back to haunt him later.

The second incident was a shocking two-footed challenge by no.6 which was high, nowhere near the ball and stopped the player going through on goal. Not only did the ref allow play to go on but the home side refused to kick the ball out of play for the injured man to be treated. In many circumstances I’d applaud the continuation of play as the “gentleman’s rule” has been abused so much in Thailand as a time-wasting technique. Sadly in this case it was nothing of the sort and the injured player was subbed off two minutes later. The offender was not even spoken to. See the clip below at around 4:40.

We took it to them

In the second half I was expecting Eka to basically set up camp in their own area but to the massive credit of everyone involved they set their sights higher. Midway through the second period (10:20 in the clip) SS’s no .16 committed a late challenge and didn’t even look at the ref before handing over his captain’s armband and walking towards his early bath. To make it even sweeter, the resulting free kick produced our second goal from no.39, Jakkrit. Perhaps Samut Sakhon’s captain will think more carefully about his responsibilities before needlessly trying to bully the official and acting like a general idiot next time.

With the one man advantage Eka still refused to sit back and perhaps my favourite moment of the game was Siroch’s long range effort that hit the corner of the goalposts. To see a player possessing the kind of confidence to even attempt that shot gives me hope that we can move up the table.

Final result 0-2. This has been the most unexpected result I’ve ever seen since I saw Southampton beat Man Utd 6-3 in 1996. Today was fantastic not just for the score alone but the performance that produced it, the influence of the new players, the calmness of our defence - our goalie had the best game of his Eka career today - and the news that we have two new Korean players who have not even debuted yet.

We can’t get over-excited, we’re still bottom of the table, but at least now all my “cause for hope” comments can be at least partly vindicated.
Well done and a heartfelt thank you to every single player and staff member at Eka for their commitment, attitude and bravery. This game was another one for the scrap books.

Photo credits: Nhong Tim

Assumption Thonburi 1 Nonthaburi FC 1 - report

After a disappointing nil-one defeat at home last week, Eka were handed a surprisingly quick chance for redemption when this game was switched from Thonburi to Eka's home of Wat Boat, presumably due to water-logging at Thonburi's stadium. It was still officially listed as a home game for Thonburi and Eka fans were placed in the away section of the Stadium.

Nonthaburi took the lead with a neat finish by 31. Theerapong following some one touch football in the first half. Thonburi equalised later with a clear-cut penalty decision that was duly converted. This was the only downer of the game for goalie Manop, who played his first fixture of the season despite being the best goalie we have in my opinion.

Towards the end of the game Eka started to push harder, causing one Thonburi player to throw himself down and play dead. At this point their stretcher man announced to the ref that he was coming on to the pitch and strolled on before waiting for the ref's permission. Said ref was too nervous to respond. This moment really summed up the officials in this game and indeed many of the problems with officials in Thailand, period.

So the game ended 1-1. It was an enjoyable contest despite having the feel of an end of season encounter between mid-table teams with nothing left to play for, which is what it was.

We now head towards the end of the season, though we still have a home game with champions Kasetstart to look forward to. Soon it will be time to look back at an enjoyable if slightly disappointing season and think about what changes need to be made for 2012. There's no doubt we have quality players in the likes of Manop, Janewit ("on loan") Prasop, Korawut, Grant, Reece, and Sathit and the whole squad look motivated.

So what, then, is the reason for the lack of play-off push? Clearly, goals have been a problem and this was screamingly obvious before the mid-season transfer window, and was not addressed when the window opened. What we did do in the window was allow Janewit - by far our best defender - to go and failed to replace him, even allowing another quality defender in Soloman to walk away.

There are other questions: our players are true professionals yet appear to tire earlier than other teams, they play at their best when playing by instinct (when losing or under pressure) rather than following a game plan and substitutions appear random and rarely involve a tactical switch. Who is responsible for this? Surely it's the coach. If we want next season to be different, we need to take a serious look at the staff set-up. Still whatever happens, the players will have the loyal fans of the "Rookery" to cheer them on.

The new squad list

Update 2013 season:
This is a work in progress, the club did release a squad list for 2013, then in true local style they completely disregarded it, so I'm building this list up myself.


30 Pathanphong (GK)

6 Joejoe Sompen (DF)
4 Krilas (DF)



15 Tarore (DM)


21 Nonthagun (RM)

19 Gun (MD)

14 Athikum (MD)

29 John (CM/LM)

24 Asiriya (LM)

25 Rathchapark (MD)

17 Apirak (MD)

11 Chatchai (MD)



12 Ataon (FW)

16 Cedric (FW)

26 Tomi (CF)

10 Alassane (FW)

Coming home

It's been well over a year after Rajpracha left the place, promising that they would return for the second leg of the 2010 season after "renovations" were complete. Yet the Nonthaburi Provincial "Wat Boat" Stadium remains unimpressive and barely changed, but this tiny ground is likely to stay deep in the hearts of local fans.

Importantly, the pitch is looking in good condition. Off the field, the only real change visible from the front view is the layer of dust and stone over the track that runs behind the pitch and running track. I hope this will last out the monsoon season to avoid a repeat of my first ever trip to the stadium - when I arrived in business attire and sunk knee-deep into mud before I made the stand, much to the amusement of local kids. Behind the single stand for fans, a large area has been demolished, leaving waste ground and rubble behind.

The real question now is: can Nonthaburi FC and Nonthaburi Government deliver the TPL standard structure the club has pledged to achieve? It looks to be a difficult task given the dilapidated structure of the stand, the surrounding construction and the typically cramped provincial Thai village that surrounds it.

Let me try to give you a visual image - the ground has just one stand - I'll call it the West Stand - that runs from a touchline to almost the opposite touchline. Around the pitch is a running track (that was used cheerfully by runners throughout yesterday's friendly) but it's mercifully narrow and does not affect a fan's view too much. The area behind the goal that I walk across to get to the stand could conceivably be used to throw up some bleachers and expand the total capacity to 1500-2000. Even this would be a challenge though, as it would block vehicles from entering the ground from the front way. Assuming that the area behind the stand was deolished to form a car park, there would need to be another route for vehicles to enter it. The opposite goal end is immediately in front of a school playground and has very little space. The opposite side to the west stand is narrow and covered by a run-down basketball court, but perhaps at a push the club could relocate the court and throw up another small makeshift stand that could just push capacity to 2,000 (the minimum TPL requirement).

In all, the Wat Boat Stadium is unlikely to ever be a top-ranked football ground, but then that's probably not what anyone wants. Fans of Rajpracha and now Nonthaburi FC like it because - unlike the Thunder Dome or even the Rama 9 Stadium - it's central to the province, in a typically provincial area, hard to get to (no regular buses go there) and is frequented by working class Thai people. That may just by why it worked for Raj, and may yet work for Eka.

The man standing closer to the camera is where the outside track now runs. The machine you see next to the grass pitch is where the goal now is. You can see the edge of the single stand in the background.
This is the only picture I could find online, if anyone knows of others, please tell. 

Friendly win

Nonthaburi won a friendly away to Bangkok United this week. The score was 3-2.

Nonthaburi FC fan clip

Pointless, but fun!

Nonthaburi FC mean business

www.nonthaburifc.com

The owner of Nonthaburi FC has confirmed that promotion to Division One and nothing less is the target for next season.

The club have conjointly confirmed they are signing a new coach with higher league experience but will not reveal the identity until his contract with his current club expires.

The 'Crows' have also signed three foreign players: a twenty five year old Belgian forward, thirty year old midfielder Muhammed Kha signed from a Belgian club and a twenty seven year old midfielder, possibly a Guinean international.

Apparently the club may also launch a new logo and shirt design next season, though sponsorship is not required unless a suitably sized offer is made.

Two pre-season friendlies have been played against Prachinburi FC and PTT respectively.

I'm hopeful of publishing an interview with a very popular Eka player soon.

Nonthaburi 4 Rajatewi 3

Nontahburi's season came to end with their highest ever goal tally against a promotion chasing Rajatewi side.


The game itself was, according to reports, an exciting affair with penalties, scuffles , a red card (Janewit) and lots of goals.


Eka came painfully close to promotion themselves but just missed out on head to head tallies, a loss caused by their mid-season slump.

Overall though it's been a highly successful first season for Nonthaburi and I hope to see them in action more often next year.

Photos of the game here

Big game for EKA

Nonthaburi FC take on Bangkok Glass this Sunday at the Rama 9 Stadium in the Toyota League CUP. After much confusion over ticketing, temporary stands and other issues, it's been decided that.......well nothing much has been decided or confirmed except that the club will not change the venue.

EKA will be looking to cause an upset in this two-legged fixture and will need to call on all their experience and physical presence to match the high ranking, high budget TPL side.

Photo credit: bangkokglassfc.com 

Kasembundit 1 Nonthaburi 1

Match pictures and crowd shots here

Nonthaburi 1 BCC 0 - Report

Paicture credit: nonthaburifc.com

The reason I don't get to see Nonthaburi FC as often as my other two local teams isn't because I care less about them, but simply because I decided to prioritise teams in the order in which I discovered them: MTU, Raj and Eka, in that order.

So I'd missed a good few games before today's clash with Bangkok Christian College but I expected little to have changed. I was wrong.

The first change to be noticed was that merchandise was now on sale. I really like the style of both the home and away shirts so I bought one of each then entered the stadium. That was when change number two jumped out and smacked me on by big snoozer immediately.

Because Eka's home colour is black, it's common for the crowd to look like the audience at a Marilyn Manson concert for any game. However, today it had been taken one step further. The large crowd had a distinctly unorthodox look about it. To my right was a man - I repeat: a man - with large breasts. To his right was a another man who looked like a young version of Robert Smith from 'The Cure', complete with hair like Marge Simpson. In front of me was another male who, I would soon discover, would spend the entire game attempting to enter the 'Guinness Book of Records' for the loudest, most irritating and girly scream ever emitted by a male. It continued. The man three seats to my left was kitted out in full eye-liner and blusher. His male accomplice was wearing a blouse. There were at least thirty members of this group. Probably more. Yes, Nonthaburi have somehow established themselves as the club of choice for the androgynous community.

Don't get me wrong. I have no problem with anyone from any walk of life who supports the same team as me and is a decent person. The only annoyance was the aforementioned screamer who clearly had no knowledge or interest in football. My surprise was simply due to the change of personnel since my last visit to the Rama 9 Stadium and the humor at the thought of such crowd attending a game in England. What would the Brits make of it?

The usual Nonthaburi support was also in attendance though, in full voice to boot. Moreover, BCC bought the biggest away following -  including four farang fans (why don't you drop by and introduce yourselves guys?) - that I've ever seen for a D2 game. All this combined with Nonthaburi FC's quickly established reputation for being completely free of airs and graces - fans will attend barefoot, smoke, drink beer from glass bottles and eat off the terrace floor - made for a fun atmosphere.

Oh yeh, we won one-nil in a scrappy game. Sarawut Thasong scored in the second half and left Eka to ride their luck big time but just hold out for the win. The D2 Bangkok race is wide open.

The new crowd seems fun providing the drunks - of which there are always a few at Eka games - don't decide to get silly at some point in future. I don't see it happening, as Eka fans are as friendly as any other despite their manner. Then again I didn't expect trouble last time it happened, either.

*******

Meanwhile Rajpracha went down one-nil to Chantaburi. The 'Crowns' are due to face D1 leaders Air Force United next Sunday.

Nonthaburi 1 Bangkok FC 0

Another 1-0 win for Eka. Pictures here

Updates - Raj win, Futsal and Nonthaburi FC

Rajpracha continued their return to form with an impressive win away to RBAC (Rattanabundit) in a rescheduled game. Raj took the lead in the first half before RBAC equalised. In the second half of an open game, the winning goal finally fell to Raj in a similar vein to the equalising goal against Chiang Rai in midweek.
*************

I didn't attend the game but I did attend the futsal match between Nonthaburi and Thai Port at The Mall Bang Khae. The event was highly popular - I'd estimate 400 - 500 people attended - and well organised. The match itself was highly entertaining. I was not familiar with the rules of futsal so it was a surprise that a forty minute match actually spans well over one hour. This is because the clock is stopped whenever the ball goes out of play. This helps to stop the notorious problem in Asian football of time wasting, although there were still one or two suspect incidents. Nonthaburi held a lead for most of the game but still managed to lose 4-5. I enjoyed the event and will attend some more matches. The Thai Port blog has more information on Thai Futsal in English.















Picture credit: thailandfutsalleague.com 
 **********
Nonthaburi FC's fixture for the last two weeks have been cancelled. The next game is July 4th, away to Asia Rose.

No go for Raj V Chang Rai UPDATE

UPDATE: This game was cancelled anyway.

I was planning to attend the game between Raj and Chang Rai today but red shirts  have blocked Rattanthibet road, which is on my route, with tyres.

I will keep up with the score from my PC.

**********

Nothaburi FC dropped more points, drawing 2-2 with Rose Asia last weekend.

Highlights and photos

Customs 3 Raj 0

A good set of photos here

And highlights of Bangkok FC 2 Vs Nonthaburi 1  ...............

Nonthaburi 0 Rangsit 1

It just didn't work out for Eka today against a surprisingly quick Rangsit side who looked dangerous on the break.


A lack-luster first half ended 0-0. In the second half, Rangsit scored with about fifteen minutes left. This seemed to wake up Nonthaburi who realised that their undefeated streak was at risk. New African striker Camara Fode was introduced to the action, but he failed to make an impact. Despite some close chances, Rangsit managed to defend well and feign enough injuries to run down the clock (but credit to the ref who booked one Rangsit player for time wasting).


This loss is an opening for North Bangkok College to close the gap and Nonthaburi need to return to form after the mid-season break.

Updates

Raj travel to Prachinburi, near the Cambodian border on Sunday. For the second time in a week, work commitments will stop me attending the game. However, I will attend the game between Nonthaburi and Rangsit on Saturday.

Meanwhile, here is a picture of some sneaky looking white guy making a run for it at the game between Raj and Narataiwat last week.....

Nonthaburi FC Squad

Note: This list is now out of date. Some players remain but some have left. I will post an updated list soon.

Pictures and profiles of the players can be seen on the official site

Chairman: Wichai Sangprapai
Coach: Sunti Song-Tae (สันติ ทรงเต๊ะ)

Squad:
1) Marak Matadam
2) Anuchit Gratama
3) Maytee Sonjit
4) Chotawee Promrat
5) Surasak Ateim
6) Venus Ponsa
7) Noppadom Wonjan
8) Sarawut Thasong
9) Pramot Butarat
10) Arthit Praagune
11) Pongsak Kongaew
12) Youngyuth Kongaew
13) EKA Nonthaburi
14) Nittipong Limsuan
15) Bouagba Carrion
16) Gidja Choosing
17) Sathit Sriuthai
18) Pittawat Jumnongchop
19) Nikom Somwang
20) Thanom Sangjangda
21) Thait Poorat
22) Kasipat Boonyakornshindetch
23) Camara Fode
24) Sommai Kaubpimai
25) Thanoon Klangkorn
26) Jakkapong Rayanamarch
27) Jenwit Boonsuwan
28) Prasop 
29) Kim Young Sung