MVFC Blog

Chonburi FC hosts the Melbourne Victory tomorrow night in Bangkok. It may not be their home stadium, but the Thai champions will be hoping that the heat and humidity of Bangkok will give them an edge over the Victory.

Both teams enter the match on the back of a good result: Melbourne downed the Chunnam Dragons with a clinical 2 - 0 win, while Chonburi FC came away with a point from their match with Gamba Osaka. Both will take confidence from their performance, but last week’s results will also make them wary of this week’s opponent.

Melbourne’s performance last Wednesday was impressive to say the least. I’m sure I wasn’t the only fan afraid the Victory wouldn’t hit its stride, but they certainly did. Their flowing, attacking football created many problems for the Dragons, exposing a flawed defence again and again. While Melbourne was lucky to avoid giving away a penalty, it deserved to win.

Chonburi FC was at once lucky and unlucky to end up with a draw against Gamba Osaka. Pitted against a much-favoured side, Chonburi played a tight defensive game, warding off Gamba with tenacity and no small measure of luck. Against the flow of play, they picked up a goal. But Gamba was finally rewarded for its efforts, with Brazilian striker Lucas drawing the hosts level in the 94th minute. Ultimately, a draw was a good result for Chonburi, but the Thai champions could feel unlucky to have let through a goal in the dying moments of the match.

The Victory’s performance seems to have caused some concern for Chonburi. Thai officials earlier this week tried to make life tough for Melbourne, attempting to get Melbourne to train in the middle of the day - instead of at 10am. Rather sad, but it does suggest that Chonburi are worried.

Will Chonburi opt for a defensive posture, as they did against Gamba Osaka? At home, playing in conditions familiar to them, but stifling to the Victory, Chonburi may approach this match with a more attacking mindset. Let’s not forget that this is a team that can win games. It won the 2007 Thai Premier League with an impressive margin, and is off to a promising start for the 2008 League.

The Victory needs to closely watch Chonburi’s number 12, the Brazilian Ney “Farbiano” De Oliveira, who engineered Chonburi’s goal last week. Caught on the counter, Gamba’s defenders were outplayed by Farbiano. Rodrigo Vargas and Kevin Muscat, take note. Pipop On-Mo, the captain, is another striker to watch: he is considered one of Thailand’s finest talents.

At the other end of the park, Melbourne has to do what Gamba could not: score. Gamba sprayed balls centimetres wide or high, or had them stopped by Chonburi keeper Sujin Nakayom. Victory will need clinical finishing. The Chunnam Dragons gave Melbourne room to move; don’t expect the same from Chonburi FC.

If Melbourne can break through early and take the lead, Chonburi will be in deep trouble. They were fortunate to take the lead against Gamba, a one-goal barrier allowing them to do nothing but defend. If they go down a goal, they will have to emerge from their defensive cocoon. If that happens, I think Melbourne will be able to put a few more in.

My tip: Chonburi FC 1, Melbourne Victory 3

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