Heavy rain for two hours before kick-off made the pitch almost unplayable and spoiled the new owners’ debut against FC Yala yesterday (Sept 15) at the Surakul. The stadium is municipally owned, leaving the maintenance and groundkeeping out of the club’s control, which may cause some headaches for what remains of the rainy season.
Judging the players on their performance is incredibly hard. Russ Horsley has stated that his team was to play progressive, passing, attacking football, but sadly this was almost impossible today. It allowed FC Yala, ‘The Jigsaws’, to dominate with their more route-one style of play. Yala looked far more at home with two towering centre-backs and the height advantage all over the pitch. This was evident as they launched a quick counter-attack in the 5th minute, and their captain Lassamano’s nimble shot allowed the visitors to take the lead.
Phuket came back into the game, trying to play the ball to feet where possible and tested the keeper through Sarod shortly after. The game was stop-start, with players unable to stay on their feet due to the surface and free kicks for both sides aplenty.
The Lobsters drew level from a set piece in the 15th minute. Attagorn’s free kick from the left was taken nicely by new Egyptian star Torky, who swivelled and shot home to bring some relief to the 400 fans who braved the weather to support their team.
Yala’s distribution was superior, though, and it was evident that they were a more cohesive unit than this new Phuket Andaman team, who are still bonding after a disrupted pre-season due to the delayed takeover. From a well-taken corner, Lassamano doubled his tally and took FC Yala into half-time the far happier team.
The game resumed and was stop-start for most of the second half. The introduction of Ivory Coast signing Bebe added some much-needed drive to Phuket on the hour mark, and from then on, they started playing the ball to feet with more success.
‘Game’ Satawat had several mesmerising runs down the left wing, Bebe was scythed down after a brilliant shimmy, and Kitipat was unlucky to see his shot from distance deflected in injury time. However, FC Yala were able to hold strong and deserved the victory.
Match Day one is far from a fair reflection of the new-look Phuket Andaman FC, who showed glimmers of promise in the second half. Better conditions, more time to bond, and a well-thought-out plan B for these occasions will surely see them have far better days ahead.
PAFC Formation: 4-2-3-1
PAFC Line Up:
55 - ‘Kla’Patapee
99 - ‘Bee’ Anawin (GK)
4 -’Bass’ Akkharadech
8 - ‘Petch’ Chinnatan
9 - ‘Bank’ Sarod
11 - ‘Torky’Abdelrahman (Goal 15’)
17 - ‘Game’ Satawat
21 - ‘Ball’ Muhammad
27 - ‘Min’ Kittinan
41 - ‘Chao Phum’ Sathaporn
79 - ‘Ohm’ Athagorn
Substitutes:
46 - ‘Pang’ Mumadirfan (GK)
6 - ‘Not’ Kanin
7 - ‘Rahman’ Abdelrahman (85’)
18 - ‘Prem’ Saekoy
25 - ‘Chao Pan’Kwanchai
26 - ‘Preuk’ Kitipat (85’)
29 - ‘Pong’ Pokpong
47 - ‘Wa’ Wuttichai
66 - ‘Keng’ Patapee (70’)
77 - ‘Bebe’ Coulibary (60’)
PAFC position in table: 9th
Form : PAFC: N/A FC Yala: N/A
Next Match: Sat, Sept 21 vs Satun (away) 4pm kick-off.