Buriram came away with a hard-earned 1-0 victory at Ratchaburi which they just about deserved. They created the better chances, though both sides were guilty of wastefulness in front of goal.
Tunez was outstanding at the back but once again the star of the show was Diogo. He was a constant threat and the Ratchaburi defence was often reduced to unfair tactics in their efforts to stop him.
Buriram made a bright start and could easily have been two up in the first five minutes. First, Coelho played Anon in but his finish was woefully weak. Then Diogo headed on for Coelho to race into the box and after rounding the keeper managed to trip himself up !
Shortly after a quick free-kick let Coelho free to move into the left side of the area before hitting a fierce shot which the keeper turned over the bar. The resulting corner was cleared for another corner and Korrakot’s vicious inswinger was headed off the line.
Buriram had another clear chance in the 16th minute when Jakkaphan collected the ball just outside the area but dragged his shot wide with only the keeper to beat.
Ratchaburi began to come into the game more and were guilty of over-elaborating on a couple of occasions when a strike on goal could have caused Siwarak problems.
The first yellow card came in the 21st minute when Korrakot was guilty of a very late tackle.
Buriram continued to press and had the ball in the net in the 40th minute when Coelho turned the ball in following a Diogo header but he was clearly offside.
The second-half saw Buriram continue to go on the offensive and Diogo went close in the 47th minute when he cut in from the right and curled a left-foot shot just wide of the far post.
Diogo then turned provider in the 54th minute when he made a great run down the right before drilling a perfect low ball across the face of the goal which Coelho somehow managed to miss completely from two yards.
Buriram then replaced Anon with Bordin in the 63rd minute and 6 minutes later should have taken the lead when Diogo was put in the clear but his first touch was way too heavy and the chance was gone.
However, the Brazilian made amends in the 74th minute when he made a terrific run down the right before looking up and finding Coelho with a superb low cross and the big striker did the necessary with consummate ease.
It really was a delightful pass from Diogo, worthy of winning any match.
Buriram played out the rest of the game without any real alarms apart from a Diogo yellow card for comments to the referee which could see him miss the next match.
So a solid, if not spectacular performance . As stated earlier Tunez was a rock at the back and Diogo was a handful for the home defence. For me, the biggest disappointment was Jakkaphan.
I find it strange that he is the captain when more often than not he does not warrant a place in the side. He gives the ball away far too often and his attempts at finishing are simply not good enough.
Next up is Pattaya, away, in a league match on Saturday June 24, 7pm.