Buriram came away with three points in a close encounter with Suphanburi. Yet again, Buriram had to come from behind and levelled before half-time through Kaio before Chitpanya came up with a fortuitous winner.
The home side had former Buriram and Thailand star Chappuis in their side as he continues his comeback after a lengthy lay-off through injury. As in previous games, the Buriram defence looked far from solid and they again proved vulnerable to quick counter-attacks.
Up front they are still lacking a cutting edge with Moreira in particular continuing to disappoint. Kaio scored for the second successive league game but is not performing to the level that is required. He gives away numerous free-kicks and last night it eventually resulted in him being dismissed near the final whistle.
The game had a lively opening with Buriram having a great chance to take the lead in the second minute when Diogo put Moreira through with a delightful ball but the strker’s touch was too heavy as he lifted the ball over the advancing keeper and over the bar as well.
Suphanburi made Buriram pay three minutes later when they opened the scoring, though there was more than a touch of good fortune about the goal. The ball was played into the Buriram box and it was half-cleared but rebounded off a Suphanburi player to fall perfectly for Dellatorre who smashed his shot past a helpless Siwarak.
The defence was caught out again in the seventh minute by a quick through-ball but Siwarak reacted superbly to block the shot on the edge of the area. Two minutes later Suphanburi repeated the dose but this time Tunez conceded a free-kick on the edge of the area. Replays suggest that the big defender was lucky to escape punishment and the offence looked to have been inside the area.
The Buriram defence was breached yet again in the fourteenth minute and Siwarak was forced into another great save, getting down superbly to a firm,low strike. A minute later Surat received a yellow card when he reacted violently to being fouled. In truth, he was lucky to stay on the pitch.
Buriram levelled against the run of play in the twenty-ninth minute when Diogo crossed from the left for Kaio to rise and direct an excellent downward header just inside the post. If his header against Chiang Rai was lucky as it went through the keeper’s legs, there was nothing fortunate about this fine effort.
In the thirty-third minute Buriram brought on Sieghart for Surat who was walking a bit of a tightrope and it was a sensible move. Shortly after, the home side were reduced to ten men and it initially seemed it was a straight red but it has been confirmed that it was two yellows. It wasn’t a great tackle but I think the offender was very unfortunate to be sent off as there was no serious contact.
A minute before the interval, superb work down the left by Diogo saw him cross perfectly for Moreira to send a free-header wide from close range.
So all-square at the interval with both sides missing great chance though at least Suphanburi hit the target and Buriram were grateful to Siwarak for keeping them in the game. Though Diogo was creating chances, this meant that he wasn’t where he is needed most often enough, in the box.
Moreira has spurned four chances in the last two games that most strikers would have buried and he needs to hit the target very soon.
Buriram had a great chance to take the lead three minutes into the second-half when a left-wing cross found Diogo but he put his header wide when he really should have scored.
Two minutes later a cross from the right picked out Moreira but again he failed to hit the target with a weak header which went wide. Not long after, Siwarak came to Buriram’s rescue again when he turned a fierce free-kick over the bar.
Buriram went in front in the sixty-fifth minute when Chitpanya’s left-wing corner was headed back to him and he curled in another cross which beat everyone before nestling in the net at the far-post. Was it a cross ? Was it a shot ? If it was intentional then it would be one of the goals of the season.
Fortunate, maybe, but Buriram haven’t been blessed with a lot of good luck this season, so maybe they were due this one.
They should have put the game to bed in the seventy-fifth minute when the move of the match saw Buriram work the ball down the right from where it was crossed for Moreira to fire way over the bar from close range.
This bad miss heralded his exit as he was immediately replaced by Supachok. A minute later Kaio received a yellow card for something fairly trivial though I suspect his numerous previous offences had something to do with it.
Suphanburi had not been looking anywhere near as dangerous as in the first-half and Buriram had little trouble closing out the game. There was drama in stoppage time when Kaio received a red card for appearing to strike an opponent in the face, following a fracas.
This was certainly a welcome three points but the performance was far from convincing. The defence looks all over the place at times and chances are still going begging with alarming regularity. On a brighter note, Chitpanya was once again outstanding and on this form the Thai national selectors will surely be taking note.
Buriram’s nightmare injury list lengthened yet again recently when Anan damaged knee ligaments and will be sidelined for five months. Whilst he has not exactly impressed when he has played, no-one likes to see any player suffer serious injury and we wish him a full and speedy recovery.
The next match is an FA Cup tie at Chanthaburi on Wednesday July 13, 6pm. As stated previously, the FA Cup is vital to Buriram as it is a route to the Champions League play-offs.