The match

Ekkanit Panya had it won before the hour of real trouble arrived. He scored on 13 and again on 35, and in between, on 27 minutes, Adisorn Promrak was sent off. A side a man down with a two-goal lead and an hour to play might reasonably have settled for what it had. Ratchaburi scored four more.

Tarek Aggoun got the third on 56, Robert Žulj the fourth on 68, Tana the fifth on 84 and Njiva Rakotoharimalala, on the pitch twelve minutes, the sixth on 88 — four second-half goals by four different foreign players, with Sanchai Nonthasila supplying two assists in twenty-seven minutes off the bench. The extraordinary part is in the shot count: with ten men Ratchaburi still had 53 per cent of the ball, fifteen shots to Sukhothai’s thirteen, and ten on target to four. Five big chances to none. Jay Worapath recorded it as a ninth consecutive home match unbeaten against Sukhothai. Ratchaburi went ninth to first on the Friday night and were sixth by Sunday, which says more about the compression at the top than about them: their goal difference of plus six is the best in the division, and Sukhothai’s minus eight the worst.

The line-ups

Starting elevens and shapes: FotMob. ⚽ a goal, with the minute; a red bar a sending-off; ↓ the minute the player was replaced.

The numbers

The match

Willen put Ayutthaya United ahead on 23 and they spent the rest of the afternoon defending a point they had every right to lose. Patrik Gustavsson equalised on 54, shortly after Vladimir Vujovic made three changes at the interval, and four minutes before Diogo Brito was sent off. Eleven against ten for more than half an hour, and Pathum United could not find a second.

The reason is in one line of the data. Pathum United had eighteen shots and put two on target. Eight corners produced nothing. An expected-goals total of 1.39 against 0.20 describes a side creating plenty and finishing none of it, and Ayutthaya’s best moment after the red card was hitting the woodwork. Warut Mekmusik, whose save percentage of 82 and rating of 7.46 are the joint best of any goalkeeper in the division through four rounds, barely had to prove it. Ayutthaya United leave it eighth on seven points. Pathum United are tenth on five, goal difference nought, one win in four.

The line-ups

Starting elevens and shapes: FotMob. ⚽ a goal, with the minute; a red bar a sending-off; ↓ the minute the player was replaced.

The numbers

The managers

Vladimir Vujovic, Pathum United, said he was disappointed and that two points had gone; that in the first half his team did not look like the club it ought to be, with players out of position and energy spent chasing needlessly, neither the picture that had been planned nor the quality he expects. The three changes at the interval made a difference, he said, and they levelled quickly and drew the red card. The end of the match was the real shame: chances and corners thrown away for one goal. (Ball Thai Stand, translated.)

The match

The only meeting of unbeaten sides on the card, and for most of it the wrong one was winning. João Felipe put Rayong ahead on 13 and, after Stefan Schimmer had levelled on the stroke of half-time, ahead again on 56. On 78 he collected a second yellow and left the field, which is the single decision this round will be remembered for: a forward who had scored twice, sent off, with his side in front and twelve minutes to see out.

What the numbers show is a siege. Buriram United had 71 per cent of the ball, twenty-seven shots to six, nine on target to three, 371 accurate passes to 122, ten corners to two — and an expected-goals total of 3.11 against 0.27. On that evidence Rayong had no business leading at all, and they led twice. Supachai Chaided levelled on 83 and Thanakrit Chotmuangpak, four minutes on the pitch, won it in the fourth minute of added time from a chance worth 0.02 expected goals. Both assists were Paulo Henrique’s — Paulinho, on after 65 minutes, two assists in twenty-five, the best-rated player on the field. Sasalak Haiprakon played the full ninety at left-back in a 3-5-2. Rayong committed nineteen fouls to Buriram’s four, which is one way to stay in a game and, in the end, the way they lost it.

The line-ups

Starting elevens and shapes: FotMob. ⚽ a goal, with the minute; a red bar a sending-off; ↓ the minute the player was replaced.

The numbers

The managers

Akkhaphon Chalitaphon, Rayong, accepted the result and said he was proud of his players’ performance, and that the decision that cost them a man came down to the referee’s discretion. The club’s Sathit Pitutecha was less settled, asking through the evening whether the second yellow had been fair — คาใจ, kha chai, a grievance that will not go down: more than a query, less than an accusation. No formal complaint has been reported. (Ball Thai Stand and Jay Worapath, translated; both reported rather than quoted verbatim.)

The match

Ben Davis scored on 12 and made Willian Lira’s on 16, and after that the game refused to behave. Somyos Pongsuwan pulled one back in first-half added time, Trent Buhagiar restored the two-goal lead on 53, Kim Ji-Min made it 3-2 on 70, and Robertinho settled it in the fifth minute of added time. A first home win of the season, and the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth goals Uthai Thani have scored in four rounds — more than any club in the division.

It should not have been close and it should also not have been won. Rasisalai United, bottom but one and promoted this summer, had thirty shots to Uthai Thani’s twenty and fourteen on target to eleven, with eleven corners to five, and lost. Caíque, rated 8.7, was the best goalkeeper of the round, which in a 4-2 is its own kind of compliment and in this particular 4-2 is the entire explanation. Uthai Thani’s problem is the same one that makes them the most watchable side in the league: they concede 2.27 expected goals a game. Second on nine points is a fine return for it, and nobody at the club will think it is settled.

The line-ups

Starting elevens and shapes: FotMob. ⚽ a goal, with the minute; a red bar a sending-off; ↓ the minute the player was replaced.

The numbers

The match

Gustavo Schutz put Chiangrai United ahead on 46 and they were the better side on most of the available measures: seventeen shots to twelve, eight corners to six, an expected-goals total of 1.99 against 1.50. What they did not have was a finish. Two shots on target in ninety minutes. Prachuap had five, equalised through Bernardo Vilar on 60, and won it on 80 through Edgar Méndez’s penalty. Méndez, rated 8.0, was the best player on the pitch. Vilar, who had equalised, went off injured on 88.

Prachuap are fourth on nine points and have conceded two goals in four matches — half a goal a game, the best defensive record in the division, with two clean sheets. The afternoon’s consequences were not confined to the pitch. The Chiangrai United president, Mitti Tiyapairat, known to Thai football pages as บิ๊กฮ่น, Big Han, said afterwards that the shape of the game had been good but that if standards are not controlled and everything is called a matter of discretion, Thai football will only ever get this far; that he had had enough and might stop running the club. Three independent outlets carried the remarks. He also raised questions about the composition of the officiating team for this match, which we are not reproducing until the original interview can be checked. The league has not responded.

The line-ups

Starting elevens and shapes: FotMob. ⚽ a goal, with the minute; a red bar a sending-off; ↓ the minute the player was replaced.

The numbers

The match

The cruellest set of numbers of the round, and by now a familiar one. Lamphun Warrior out-shot Bangkok United seventeen to fifteen, matched them on target at six apiece, hit the woodwork twice to Bangkok’s once, and beat them on expected goals by 2.12 to 1.22. They lost at home by two. Willian Popp scored on 48 and, in the third minute of added time, set up Kakana Khamyok, who had been on the pitch for twelve minutes. Patiwat Khammai kept the clean sheet at the other end and was the second-best-rated player on the field.

This is a pattern rather than an accident. Across four rounds Lamphun Warrior average 20.25 shots a game, third in the division, and 2.32 expected goals, second only to Port. They have scored three goals and taken one point, and they are fifteenth. Somewhere between the chances and the finishing there is a side worth a great deal more than that, and until somebody converts it stays an argument rather than a fact. Bangkok United are third on nine, with Popp — a goal, an assist and a rating of 9.0 — the most direct reason why.

The line-ups

Starting elevens and shapes: FotMob. ⚽ a goal, with the minute; a red bar a sending-off; ↓ the minute the player was replaced.

The numbers

The match

Sisaket United had barely a third of the ball, 140 accurate passes to Chonburi’s 309, and won anyway. The opener on 49 was an own goal by Kevin Ray Mendoza Hansen. Dennis levelled on 82. Jefinho won it on 89 on a fast break, from a chance worth 0.14 expected goals, and was the best-rated player on the field. Guilherme Borech, at right-back, made ten defensive contributions. Six points from four rounds, and ninth.

For Chonburi this was the fourth defeat in four and the most self-incriminating of them. Sixty-six per cent possession, eighteen shots to sixteen, and an expected-goals total of 0.97 against 0.96 — which is to say that for all the ball, they created nothing more than the side playing on the counter. They are the only club in either Thai division without a point, and the season numbers are not those of a pointless team: 59 per cent possession, 15.5 shots a game, 1.51 expected goals for against 1.33 against. The actual goals read three and seven, and that gap is the season. Within an hour of the final whistle Rangsan Wiwatchaichok had offered his resignation. The executive board did not accept it and will speak to him when he is back at the club; the team manager, Sinthaweechai Hathairattanakool, resigned too, and that one appears to stand. Thai pages called the coach’s move แสดงสปิริต, sadaeng sapirit — showing spirit, the phrase used of a man who goes before he is pushed, and a judgement rather than a description. There has been no club statement.

The line-ups

Starting elevens and shapes: FotMob. ⚽ a goal, with the minute; a red bar a sending-off; ↓ the minute the player was replaced.

The numbers

The match

Peeradol Chamratsamee, the Port captain, scored after six minutes and Port spent the rest of the evening making life difficult for themselves. Noboru Shimura went on 28. Jean-Pierre Da Sylva levelled on 54, Igor Neves put Pattani ahead on 75, and with a quarter of an hour left a ten-man side was losing at home. Teerasak Poeiphimai equalised on 79, Bruno won it on 81, and Bruno had himself only been on the pitch since the twelfth minute.

Peeradol also made one of the goals, which is the kind of evening that explains why Port look different under Božidar Bandović even when the football does not. They were out-shot nineteen to eleven, lost the expected goals 1.99 to 1.17 and the big chances three to two, and won. They are fifth on nine points, having scored eight and conceded six. Ball Thai Stand called the match ไบโพล่า — bai-pho-la, bipolar, a loanword Thai football pages use of a game that swings so hard the mood of the ground flips with it.

The line-ups

Starting elevens and shapes: FotMob. ⚽ a goal, with the minute; a red bar a sending-off; ↓ the minute the player was replaced.

The numbers

The managers

Božidar Bandović, Port, had said after losing his first match in charge, in the ASEAN Club Championship on 8 October, that he was already reworking his plans and would not give up. This was his first league win. (ballthai, translated; pre-match of this fixture.)