Pleasing draw for Chonburi

In the present climate, although things will change come the beginning of the AFC Cup Group Stages in March, Chonburi should consider themselves as group winners.

They have been drawn into Group G against:

• Hanoi ACB (Vietnam)
• Eastern A( Hong Kong)
• Kedah (Malaysia)

Hanoi, winners of the Vietnamese Cup, are a new name to me. They have paleyd in the Champions League before, but they are not one of the best in Vietnam. they fall behind Binh Dung and Nam Dinh in my book of ranking.

Eastern AA, from HK, i expect to prop the group come the end of the stages. They are currently strugling in the Hong Kong First Division, so my reckoning is, if they can't match it with the best of Hong Kong, then surely they are no match for the TPL's most professional outfit? Surely?

Kedah, in some what of a slump at the moment, losing the a Malaysian Chairty shield and currently only taking 1 point from 3 games in Malaysia. Without there foriegners, we should steam roll them over.

Any how, thats my first thought.

But then, Thailand National team succumbed in Vietnam. Same could happen to Chonburi.

The wheels in this competition could keep turning over, until at least the Quarter-Final stage, where we should meet more difficult opponents from the Middle East. Or they could just fall off straight away with dour games in new cities around East Asia.

Either way, should be an interesting competition. The best AFC Cup yet.