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RHB Singapore Cup: Shootout success places Samut Sakhon third
Paul Green
info@sleague.com
TTM Samut Sakhon won the RHB Singapore Cup third-place playoff at Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday evening, after they beat Albirex Niigata (Singapore) on penalties.
After taking a 20th-minute lead, the Thai side were leading all the way until a surprise Albirex equalizer one minute from time, and needed to convert their first four penalty kicks to defeat the White Swans, who missed their first and last attempts.
Ironically, it was competition top scorer Paul Bekombo Ekollo who did not convert the last kick of the five scheduled attempts.
It mattered not, however, as Akira Takase missed his team’s fifth opportunity to leave Samut Sakhon winners 4-3 on penalties.
After it had finished 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes no extra time was to be played, so it was straight into penalties.
Albirex were suffering from nerves from the start, it seemed, as the Thais controlled the game from the opening whistle and deservedly took the lead through Thanongsak Promdad, whose strike from an acute angle on the right of the area proved too powerful for White Swans keeper Yoshito Matsushita.
The ball had been won initially 35 yards out from goal in the middle of the park by Naruecha Yuntasri, who sent Thanongsak away down the right.
Albirex had relied on fast breaks in the first half to try and gain some toe-hold on the game.
A nice through pass by captain Ken Matsumoto had sent Takase through to face the keeper Manteeva Lamsombat in the tenth minute, but the striker was indecisive and the Thai was able to block the shot as he came off his line.
Takase also got to the by-line to deliver a good cross in the 30th, but Park Myung Eun just failed to get a touch at the far post.
Park was a lively presence in the first half, so it was a surprise when he came off at half-time, making way for Naoya Kudo.
Park got in a good cross in the 37th, which was missed by Tetsuya Kishida in the middle yet still gave Matsumoto a chance to make contact at the far post, which he did, only for Manteeva to block the shot with a desperate lunge.
“We felt the pressure in the first half,” explained Albirex coach Naoki Naruo when it was all over. “We were unable to reproduce our usual form.”
It seems that the pressure came from the players themselves rather than the opposition and the occasion got to them.
Albirex also had the misfortune to lose key defender Ryota Kobayashi to injury just before conceding the goal by Thanongsak. They only had ten men on the pitch at the time the goal went in.
The Thai team had chances to go further ahead in the second half, but could not take them.
In the 48th minute goal-scorer Thanongsak picked up a good pass from Narong Chansaweak, but then put his effort just over the angle of the left upright and crossbar as Albirex breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Albirex substitute Kudo was denied by the legs of the Samut Sakhon keeper in the 50th. The Thais came back, after that, to threaten once more.
Narong cleverly curled a left-footer that swerved, first away from goal and then back towards it, as the ball cannoned off the left post and then away to safety.
Worawut Wangsawat volleyed powerfully just wide from well inside the box in the 79th as Albirex looked for a way back into the game.
The Thais looked set to win by the only goal of the game until a free kick, needlessly given away out wide on the left with only a minute to go, was curled towards goal by Kunihiro Honda.
Among a sea of defenders and Albirex strikers in the goalmouth the keeper could not get a clear sight of the ball and it wound up in the roof of the net, with Masumoto claiming the vital touch.
The game went to penalties and when White Swans defender Kazuki Yoshino put his team’s first penalty kick well over the bar, the Thai side had the early initiative, having already netted neatly through Worawut to open the scoring.
In the end it came down to the two number nines. Ekollo had his poor effort saved by the Albirex keeper, but then Takase missed the target completely, skying the ball when the chance was there to take the penalty phase to sudden death.
TTM Samut Sakhon coach Prajak Weangsong was all smiles when it was over.
He had only been able to bring over 14 players, namely those who were still contracted, so he could not hide his pleasure at the win.
“We had a game plan and we executed it exactly as I wanted,” he said.
Having gained a reputation for conceding a lot of goals in their previous matches, the Thais proved far more disciplined and better organised in this match to frustrate Albirex.
They did look a little tired towards the end so they were spared extra time and would have taken the penalties, very willingly, to settle the outcome, given their apparent fatigue.
One worthwhile thing about the game was the genuine sportsmanship displayed by both sides, with referee Muhd Taqi issuing only one caution all match.
Players exchanged shirts at the end, for many of the Albirex team members their last appearance for the club as the season came to a close.
“Next season, we’d like to do even better,” promised Prajak of his Thai visitors.
The coach said that there would be new players added to the squad and after tasting success in the shape of third spot, they would like to try for major honours next time. |
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