A pattern seems to be emerging from the Ronins’ latest four losses, with 13 of their 15 conceded goals having occurred in the second half of play.
Going into the latest match – the 16th of the 38-fixture 2015 Yamaha League One (YL1) season – 12th placed Phuket FC were determined to turn their recent run of bad form around, against 13th placed Phichit FC.
And things were looking good at the half time break, thanks to goals from the dedicated efforts of Andres Lopes (officially credited as an own goal to Nenebi Slyvestre) and Ndebi Berlin on the 25th and 40th minutes, respectively.
But Phichit’s half time pep talk made all the difference, as the King Crocodiles came out of the locker room firing all guns, delivering an impressive comeback played mostly on the wings, which saw a succession of goals by Melvin Kicmett (47m), Athit Buthjinda (66 and 77m), Nenebi Sylvestre (68m) Mbengan Isaac Honcre (70m) and Suthon Kulmai (81m).
Phuket’s Yusuke managed to score a consolation goal in injury time to bring the final score 6-3.
Now the Ronins have fallen further down the League One table, to 14th place, hovering just one spot above the 6-team relegation zone.
Phuket FC Manager Pariyawit “Benz” Achirayachai was apologetic in his post-match address.
“I want everyone to understand that our players always give their all but our team is very young, and inexperienced … We have only three matches remaining in the season’s first half, and it is still possible to reach our initial goal of getting 25 points by then, but we’ll need the full support and faith of fans, players and staff,” he said, before assuring that there will be reinforcements in the second half of the season.
Meanwhile, the schedule ahead is busy for Phuket FC, who next host 2nd placed Angthong FC – the “Rice Warriors” – at Surakul Stadium tomorrow (July 11).
The Ronins will then hit the road for a mid-week clash with Nakhon Pathom United on Wednesday (July 15), before returning home to host Songkhla United on July 19. They resume the season’s second half away to BBCU on July 26, before travelling up to Chainat for an FA Cup knockout match on July 29, then returning home to play Sukhothai on August 1. (See box)
Though the YL1 currently has 20 teams this season, it will return to an 18-team format next season, hence the need to relegate six teams this season, to be replaced by four teams promoted from Division 2 Champions League playoffs at year’s end, and three more teams relegated from the Thai Premier League, to replace the three teams that get promoted up from YL1.
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Upcoming Matches
- July 11 HOME vs Angthong FC
- July 15 AWAY vs Nakhon Pathom
- July 19 HOME vs Songkhla Utd
- July 26 AWAY vs BBCU
- July 29 AWAY vs Chainat FC (FA Cup Round of 32)
- August 1 HOME vs Sukhothai