A crowd of over 4,200 fans had turned out to watch the Ronins in their first 2015 season game at Surakul Stadium and it was the Ronins who had the majority of possession throughout the game.
Phuket showed a lot of character early in the first half with Berlin Ndebe-Nlome and Wasan Samansil creating some good scoring chances but being unable to find the back of the net. Whereas the Pink Panthers didn̕t seem to gel, even with a few corner kicks early on, but the shots they did have were all far off target.
But Phuket̕s efforts paid off when in the 23rd minute mid-fielder Patipat Armatantri made a surging run only to be pulled down in the box by a Panthers defender. The referee immediately pointed at the spot and Phuket captain Yusuke Sato calmly put the ball away giving the Ronins a well deserved 1 – 0 lead.
The score remained at 1-0 at the half time whistle.
The Pink Panthers came out in better shape in the second half testing Phuket goal keeper Piyawat Intarapim on a number of occasions.
Phuket coach Songyod Klinsrisook made some changes mid-way through the second half, the highlight being the introduction of the showboating Brazilians – Number 10, Ronir de Souza Gonçalves, known better as “Rodinho”, and speedy winger, no. 14, Andre Luiz Rodrigues Lopes, or “Zhino” – who not only left the opposition standing in their tracks but brought delight to the home crowd with his fancy footwork.
However, the introduction of the substitutes had no real impact on the game, and it was the visitors who had the last laugh, when in the 73rd minute Panthers striker Teerachai Thampien finally got a shot on target and slotted the ball past the Phuket keeper bringing the score all square at 1-1. The score remained the same at the final whistle.
It was an impressive overall performance from Phuket FC, and if they can continue to play in the same manner throughout the season then things could look a lot mote positive than in previous seasons.
With four points after two matches, the Ronins sit in fourth place of the 20-team Yamaha League One table.
Four other teams also have four points – BBCU (2nd), Chiang Mai (3rd), Sukhothai (5th) and Police Utd (6th), while the only team to have won both of their opening matches is Ang Thong, who sit at the top following their 3-1 win on Saturday away to Bangkok.
Following are all the YL1 Week 2 results:
- Thai Tobacco 0-0 Pichit
- Pattaya Utd 2-0 PTT Rayong
- Airforce 1-1 Sukhothai
- Prachuap FC 0-2 Songkhla Utd
- Bangkok FC 1-3 Ang Thong
- Krabi 1-1 Nakhon Pathom Utd
- Thai Honda 1-1 Samut Songkhram
- Ayuthaya 0-0 Police Utd
- Phuket 1-1 BBCU
- Chiangmai 2-2 Trat FC
Phuket FC now hit the road to take on newly promoted Sukhothai FC on Sunday, March 1, before returning home for their next home match on Saturday, March 7 vs PTT Rayong, who were delegated from the Thai Premier League.
View highlights from the game here. –Additional reporting by Steven Layne
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