Buriram eased past plucky Chanthaburi with a 5-0 victory on a treacherous playing surface following heavy rain. The players had great difficulty keeping their feet and the ball frequently held up in standing water , making good football nigh on impossible.
It wasn’t a great Buriram performance but it is hard to be critical, given the conditions. The result was never in any real doubt, though Siwarak did have to make some good saves in the second-half .
Buriram made several changes, leaving Tunez, Diogo, Surat, Narubadin and Chitpanya on the bench, bringing in Dos Santos, Supachok , Chaowat, Sieghart and Anon.
Buriram should have been two up inside the first two minutes when Kaio fired wide from eight yards following a left-wing cross and then Sieghart was also wide from the edge of the box when he had a clear sight of goal.
Supachok was brought down heavily in the fourth minute but Dos Santos’ weak effort was deflected for a corner. Buriram almost took the lead in the twenty-fifth minute when Supachok cleverly lifted the ball over the defence for Moreira to beat the keeper but his shot lacked power and was cleared off the line.
Buriram did break the deadlock a minute later when the ball was half-cleared before it was returned into the box to be headed on for Moreira to rise high and head the ball over the keeper.
The relief on the striker’s face was there for everyone to see. Let’s hope it settles him down and he can now show more composure in front of goal.
Two minutes later Buriram scored again.
Kaio was felled in the box for an obvious penalty and the Brazilian got up to send the keeper the wrong way from the spot. Buriram should have gone further ahead in the thirty-third minute when a lovely through-ball sent Moreira clear but his control was poor and the chance was gone.
Four minutes from the interval a long ball out of defence sent Kaio through on goal but he shot straight at the advancing keeper who easily saved with his leg.
Sakeereen was shown a yellow card for a needless heavy challenge and then Sieghart was taken out by the keeper when clear but the referee did not give the penalty and the mandatory red card.
Despite the conditions, Buriram created enough chances to put the game way beyond the home side but yet again the finishing was disappointing.
Buriram broughton Diogo for Moreira and it only took the striker six minutes to get on the scoresheet. The ball was cut back from the right and got stuck in the mud with both defenders and attackers trying to get at it.
Eventually Diogo managed to send it into the corner of the net, via a defender’s boot. Three minutes later Siwarak was finally forced into action when he spread himself superbly to save low down on the edge of the area.
Anawin came on for Sakeereen on the hour mark as the Buriram seemed content to see out time. They brought Abdulhafiz on for Sieghart in the seventy-fifth minute before Siwarak made another excellent save diving low to his right.
Siwarak repeated the feat shortly after before turning a fierce free-kick over the bar. A minute from time Anon fired in a low shot from twenty-five yards which eluded the despairing keeper to give the score a more realistic look.
Deep into stoppage time Chitipat wrapped up the scoring with a good downward header from Chaowat’s left-wing corner.
So Buriram through with few real alarms, though the finishing continues to be a concern. Dos Santos has had two games now and has not particularly impressed, though as stated earlier, this was not a night for “pretty” football.
Next up is a home league game on Sunday July 17, 6pm, against Pattaya United.