A controversial stoppage time strike by Bruno Moreira gave Buriram a rather fortuitous victory over Bangkok Glass in the battle for third place. Although Buriram had more possession, they were indebted to keeper Siwarak who made three outstanding saves whilst his counterpart in the visitors’ goal didn’t have to make any.
It was just another reminder that without Diogo, Buriram are toothless up front. They were also very disappointing in midfield with no-one able to take charge and direct operations. There was a void between defence and attack which resulted in no pattern to their play which meant it was often laboured or geared to aimless long balls.
One of the biggest disappointments was the the standard of crosses which was dreadful both in open play and from dead-ball situations. How they are missing Suchao and Seul-Ki.
Glass attacked from the start and had a good chance in the first minute but they fluffed their lines and Buriram escaped. Three minutes later Narubadin was guilty of giving the ball away in a dangerous position but Siwarak came to the rescue with a fine save , diving low to his left.
A good Buriram break down the right saw Narubadin get to the by-line before pulling the ball back to the edge of the area to the unmarked Kaio but his low shot was wide.
Supachok then had a clear sight of goal in the twenty-second minute but his tame effort was straight at the keeper. Six minutes later Moreira received the ball on the edge of the area and he turned beautifully but again the shot lacked power and direction and it was a routine save for the keeper.
Narubadin was shown a yellow card in the thirty-third minute for another clumsy challenge , having been warned previously by the referee. Shortly after, the unmarked Kaio headed wide at the far- post following a right-wing corner.
Glass came close in the thirty-eighth minute when Chitipat slipped but Siwarak made a good block with his legs. Then in first-half stoppage time Moreira turned superbly on the edge of the area but dragged his shot wide. A familiar Buriram story, too often they fail to at least hit the target.
So a rather forgettable first-half with both teams guilty of giving the ball away far too often.
The second period continued much as the first with neither side creating any real chances. Buriram finally took the lead with a soft penalty when Kaio was pushed in the back following a left-wing Anawin cross in the fifty-sixth minute. There was contact but it has to be said that Kaio went down rather easily.
It took a full four minutes for the spot-kick to be taken as Glass protested which is totally out of order and the referee should have been stronger and issued yellow cards. To his credit Kaio held his nerve to bury a low shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
His reward was to be replaced by Anon , though to be fair, it was the right move to make as Kaio had again struggled to make any impact on the game. Six minutes later Jakkaphan sent Moreira clear down the left channel but the less said about his attempt to chip the keeper, the better.
Glass came close to an equalizer shortly after when a free-kick from the right was headed on and an attempted diving header just failed to make contact with the goal gaping.
Siwarak again came to Buriram’s rescue in the seventy-second minute when he dived low to his left to turn an excellent free-kick round the post. However, the reprieve was short-lived as Glass finally levelled .
The resulting right-wing corner saw a header cleared off the line and when the ball was returned into the box from the right, the unmarked Rodriguez had the simplest of headed chances and made no mistake.
Anawin was replaced by Adisak in the seventy-seventh minute following a knock and the substitute’s first contribution to the game was to receive a yellow card for a tackle from behind.
Sieghart was then replaced by Chitpanya who also received a yellow card shortly after following three successive fouls. Buriram continued to press, looking for a winner and in the final minute of stoppage time, it duly arrived.
Moreira was sent clear down the left and he found Anon on the right. He returned the ball into the middle for Moreira to get between two defenders and as the ball broke he had the easiest of chances from close range. TV replays suggested that there was more than a hint of handball by Moreira but the referee saw nothing amiss.
It has to be said that Buriram were fortunate to take all three points and lack of firepower and creativity in midfield is still a major concern. At the back, Koravit and Siwarak were outstanding and Tunez was more like his old self though he was done for pace on a couple of occasions.
Buriram now take a 3-1 lead to Songklah on Wednesday, September 14 6pm, in the second-leg of their League Cup semi-final.
