Dateline 22^nd October –  Match day 31.

 FT NRFC 2 Ubon UMT United 1

As the 2017 TPL season meanders towards its close, The Swatcats welcomed fellow Isaan outfit Ubon UMT United to the 80^th Anniversary Stadium. This could be a close encounter but with The Swatcat’s recent performances one would not bet against an away win for the Eagles.

In front of another sparse crowd, the home side, again playing in black, opened brightly and they went close on 3 minutes following a goalmouth melee. They continued to dominate possession with Ubon confined to a single long range effort, saved well by keeper Weera.

In the 16^th minute, Dominic Adiyiah was lucky not to be red carded when he lashed out at a defender after being brutally pushed in a challenge. The game then descended into a series of unsavoury challenges from both sides as a certain ill will between the teams developed following the incident.

The Swatcats continued to push forward without creating clear cut chances and as the half ended,

neither side looked capable of breaking the stalemate. In my opinion it is halves of football like this, bereft of excitement, that are keeping the fans away.

The second half commenced with neither side able to produce any decent chances of note, with Adiyiah the only player showing any real spark. Indeed it was Adiyiah himself who went close with an angled drive in the 60^th minute. Minutes later Rangel spurned a great chance when he shot horribly wide with only the keeper to beat.

In the 65^th minute Paulo Rangel fired in from 16 yards after a good cross from Ekkanat Kongket. Following this opening goal, Ubon began to throw more men forward but the home team defended resolutely, managing to keep a spirited Ubon forward line at bay.

In a late goal rush, Dominic Adiyiah ran onto a superb through ball to stroke the ball home in the 91^st minute to give the hosts a 2-0 lead and in the 97^th minute, Ubon pulled one back with  a  20 yard free kick from Thiago

In the end a comfortable victory and three points but two weak sides on display tonight. A match of few chances and apart from the late goal rush, an uninspiring performance from both sides. The team is now up to 12^th place and only one point off 10^th place. This result may temporarily hide the perceived inadequacies of the current Swatcat side but make no mistake, this team will continue to struggle next year unless changes are made.

Match Day 31 Stats