Yesterday I had the opportunity to watch a defining football game at the end of the regular season in Thai League 2, but today is the scheduled end of season for the Thai Premier League. However, as things stand, only 6 of the scheduled games will be completed today, the other 4 moved to Wednesday (30th). This means that the title can't be decided today but for all other teams, their future is known. Today is the last realistic chance of attending a football game before I return to the UK on Thursday and I already have tickets for one of the six games. As far as the fixture is concerned, there is nothing at stake only pride.
Originally, the plan for today was to leave the residence mid-afternoon but that soon changes. For the remaining days here, I plan only shopping but ask 'why not start now?' We agree to leave before midday and head for Thanommit Market where we take lunch.
It's now a question of reaching the famous Chatujak Weekend Market which, of course, is the last chance I have. Unfortunately, we don't have all day now, but anything I can buy will ease the pressure on the remaining days. We find a car park and have an hour or two to browse, allowing me to make a start.
The visit proves useful, but we can't hang about as it will take an hour through Bangkok traffic to reach our destination today. We've left it a bit tight, but with tickets to hand we reach BG Stadium, home of the 'Rabbits'. There's no margin to spare as we find our seats.
Today BG Pathum United are playing a decent Sukhothai (The Bats) side, but with BG in a safe 3rd position in the table it should be a comfortable home win.
The game kicks of at 6.00 pm with BG playing from left to right from our E Stand. We are looking over the goal area, BG will be attacking. I settle in my seat with a complimentary beer and have hardly had a sip before there is action as Japanese Notsuda opens the scoring after just 2 minutes. Any response from Sukhothai is muted; they can't put in any meaningful attacks. Meanwhile, the Rabbits are creating problems and after a foul in the box in the 22nd minute, star striker Raniel make no mistake with a penalty. At this rate the Rabbits will win comfortably and bag a 3rd goal in 41st minute through Ikhsan Fandi. Not done yet, BG get a 4th as Waris beats the keeper, after skinning the fullback, in the 44th minute and this is embarrassing for Sukhothai who are by no means a bad team. They then prove this by pulling a goal back in added time. The score is 4 : 1 at half-time and as far as goals are concerned, I'm in the right place at the right time.
At the start of the second half, the BG coaching staff concider the game won and make three substitutions. This now feels more like a friendly game as end of season partying seems to have arrived early. Unfortunately for the Rabbits, the Sukhothai Bats haven't read the script. In the 55th minute, the tall Brazilian forward, Fornazari rises again above a Rabbit defender to make it 4 : 2. After this the Rabbits are twitching their noses as there will be no whitewash today. Meanwhile, the Bats are playing their best football of the game but need to be patient. At 90 minutes it look like their late presure will come to nothing as there are only 4 minutes of added time but only 2 minutes are needed as Sukhothai strike again, the scorer, 22 year-old Japanese, Eito Ishimoto. I text my son-in-law describing the 'sloppy, floppy Rabbits'. I then look up and the unthinkable has happened. The Bats have equalised with almost the final kick of the game. It's great play by Matsui allowing Fornazari to grab his hat trick with a simple nod in after a looped header back in over the keeper. The useful crowd of 8,465 can't befieve what they are seeing: A 4 : 0 comeback is just unheard of. For me I can only applaud the Bats for their amazing determination when other teams would have folded. The Rabbits should have defended better but I fear the root cause was poor management of the game by the BG coaching staff. It's funny that I have a soft spot for both of these teams so 4 : 4 is a great for me and the game in general. What's more incredible is that this weekend I've seen 14 goals. Who says football is boring?
After the game there is an end of season concert outside the stadium in a packed marquee where food and drink are consumed enthusiastically. However, my attention turns to the stand selling official football shirts. The result confirms that my shopping phase has well and truly started. We return on a similar but rather shorter route than yesterday. Similar result too; Grab a beer and pause for reflection which is compulsory after this game.

Source: Visit