Insee Police United FC are a professional football club based in Pathum Thani to the north of the Thai capital of Bangkok. The club were formed in 1960 as Police United, under the management of the Royal Thai Police.
United won the League Cup in 1989, 1991 and 1993 before league honours followed. The club were crowned champions of Division One, and gaining promotion to the TPL in 1999 and 2005 before the club were taken over by the Insee concrete company after league regulations required all clubs to be private franchises and the club moved from the Royal Thai Police Stadium to the Thamassat Stadium in Rangsit.
Another promotion was clinched in 2009 following another League One championship win. Three seasons of mid table finishes followed 'The Silver Shields' elevation.
Insee Police United will play in the Thai Premier League in the 2013 season.
My visit
Insee Police United 0 Suphanburi 2 (Wednesday 27th March 2013) Thai Premier League
I was on a free day before meeting up with my team mates for the cricket the following week in Chiang Mai and I'd made the most of it in temperatures up to forty degrees as I'd visited several stadiums as well as the first half of the Regional League game between Luk Tapfah and Futera Seeker.
A taxi took me up the main road towards Ayutthaya before pulling off at Khlong Nueng to the Ransit Campus of the Thammasat University. My driver dropped me right outside the entrance for the VIP seats, which cost 200 Baht, which equalled around £4.50, and was quite expensive compared to other prices. I jogged up the stairs into the sparsely occupied seating area.
Thammasat Stadium was a fine arena. I'd wanted to visit for some time after seeing photos of it, and flying over it one day before landing at the nearby Don Mueng Airport. It had been constructed for the 1998 Asian Games, resembling a scaled down Rajamangala Stadium, with dipping open ends but with roofs down both sides. The dramatic floodlights hovered over each corner of the arena. United's move there as well as a joint tenancy with Regional League Luk Isan - Thai Air had kept the stadium in use. Once more it was nice to be in a stand with plentiful leg room.
There were far more fans on the far side. The home ultras away to my left totalled only around fifty fans, but the away ends behind the other goal were there in large numbers and were making a lot of noise as well. The game was a decent standard on a snooker table like surface.
Suphanburi went one up following what look like a dive earned them a penalty. The spot kick was slotted away as the visiting support went wild. In fairness their heroes had been the better side up until then. The Police side started throwing themselves to the floor as they detected a weak referee.
Suphanburi almost doubled their lead as the home keeper made an awful hash of a free kick, before United had a superb set piece of their own come back off the woodwork. The game flowed from end to end as Suphanburi's African forward lobbed the keeper but saw his effort brilliantly headed off the line. Police's import forward decided that falling over and acting was the order of the day.
At half time I walked round the back of the away end and visited the plentiful refreshment stands behind the far side, as well as purchasing a Police away shirt for around £15. I decided to go in with the majority of the home fans for the second period in the Crimson Cops Stand.
United piled on the pressure for much of the second half, but they couldn't find a way to equalise. The visitors rode their luck and still carried danger on the break. Frustrations were growing around me as the game grew towards its conclusion. A Suphanburi forward ran unchallenged at the Police rearguard and finished with aplomb to seal the victory.
At full time I went back to the main gates by the duel carraigeway and after ten minutes of concern managed to get a taxi to take me back to the city centre. I could only guess that my driver was desperate to get home for his favourite TV show, as we showed everything a clean pair of heels as he weaved in and out of any traffic at great speed.
I'd had a great day out and was happy to get to my hotel for a proper nights sleep after the rarity of an alcohol free day on holiday!
To catch some of the atmosphere of the evening, please go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3YQ1khZc7k&feature=youtu.be
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