Dateline 10^th September – Match day 26.

 FT NRFC 2 Suphanburi 2

The Swatcats welcomed Suphanburi to the 80^TH Anniversary Stadium as the Thai Premier League recommenced after the international break.

In front of 4209 fans and starting without striker Adiyiah, the hosts got off to a shaky start with passes going astray and Suphanburi taking control with good movement and accurate passing.

In the first 20 minutes the Swatcats looked “rusty” and with their inability to maintain possession, Suphanburi looked destined to open the scoring. Velez shot just over in the 7^th minute as the Elephants pushed forward, then hosts countered immediately as a long ball found Rangel who shot narrowly over with a vicious long range drive.

Minutes later a Pina free kick fooled everyone in the box and the keeper managed to smuggle the ball clear. A word here for Pina, whose dead ball contributions were excellent throughout the 90 minutes. In the 20th minute a first rate cross from the aforementioned Pina found Athibordee whose header was brilliantly parried away by the keeper.

In the 37^th minute Velez broke the deadlock with a fine headed goal and 5 minutes later with another stunning long range header, Rangel pulled the Swatcats level - what a fine signing Paulo Rangel has been.

In a strange half in which despite the early pressure from the visitors, the men from Korat probably had the best of the first half chances. On balance the hosts were slightly fortunate to be level at half time.

Dominic Adiyiah was introduced at half time and the second half began with the hosts again giving the ball away cheaply and unable to string passes together. Suphanburi continued to look dangerous and in the 66^th minute, after some dreadful defending, Kaimbe shot narrowly wide.

Slightly against the run of play, in the 78^th minute, the Swatcats were awarded a penalty after a clumsy challenge on Adiyiah. Rangel converted to put the hosts 2-1 up.

Swatcat’s fans heart were broken when, in the 82^nd minute, Velez arrived at the far post to put a low header past Weera. How he was able to completely elude the Swatcat defender needs to be discussed post match!!

A point gained against a decent looking Suphanburi team however not a stellar performance. The defence looked decidedly shaky and the team’s inability to put together passing movements and thus gain possession is a worry. A draw was probably a fair result but with Bangkok United away next weekend, relegation worries still continue to haunt the team.

Match Day 26 Stats