Buriram put in an excellent away performance to dump Bangkok Glass, the FA Cup holders, out of the competition with a 3-1 victory. The long-awaited return of Tunez saw confidence return to the whole team and it clearly shows how important he is to the side.
Buriram also welcomed back Seul Ki after suspension and the Korean could easily have marked his return with a yellow card in the first minute , following a very rash tackle. Seul Ki followed that up with a tackle from behind in the fourth minute, though Siwarak easily dealt with the resultant free-kick.
Two minutes later Theerathon was very lucky to escape punishment when he made contact with a Glass player’s shin with a wild kick. But there was more controversey to come in the eighth minute when Macena chased a ball into the left side of the box.
Boonyong was running with him and he clearly threw out an arm which hit Macena full in the face. It was a clear penalty and an automatic red card but incredibly the referee did nothing. There is no excuse for an error like this, everyone in the ground saw it apart from the officials.
To Macena’s credit, there were no theatricals and he got up and got on with the game. His compatriot would do well to follow his example ! A minute later Suchao had a good shooting chance when he was allowed to advance unchallenged but put a poor shot over the top.
Buriram created another opening in the fourteenth minute when Macena laid the ball off for Diogo to fire in a low shot but it was straight at the keeper. Ten minutes later Diogo appeared to get an elbow in the face but made such a meal of it the referee understandably chose to ignore it.
Theerathon was brought down heavily wide left in the twenty-ninth minute and his free-kick was headed wide by Diogo. Four minutes later Buriram broke the deadlock in bizarre circumstances. Diogo gained possession on the edge of the area and turned inside before sending in a shot.
It looked like a routine save for the keeper but the ball bounced right in front of him and the height of the bounce took him completely by surprise and the ball went over his arm and into the net. Even Diogo was stunned and his celebrations were muted to say the least.
Diogo almost scored again shortly after when he struck a lovely shot with the outside of his right boot which sent the ball curving away from the keeper who redeemed himself with a good save, diving to his left.Little had been seen of the Glass attack until they broke away in the thirty-seventh minute.
A diagonal ball into the box just eluded their Japanese striker who was unable to get the vital touch at full-stretch. This goes to show how much Tunez had tightened up the defence, this being their only sniff of goal so far. Buriram went forward again and following a cross from the left, Macena completely mis-cued right in front of goal.
A good half for Buriram, they were in complete control and were the side who were looking the more likely to score again.It was the complete opposite of the side who struggled in the second period at Sisaket and it was more more in keeping with a side at the top of the league.
Buriram made the perfect start to the second-half with a second goal three minutes in. A quick throw from the right was headed on by Jakkaphan to Macena who chested it back to the number ten who crashed an unstoppable first-time shot into the net via the bar.
Jakkaphan almost got an even better one two minutes later when Diogo crossed from the right to find him unmarked in the box. Although the ball was slightly behind him,the midfielder adjusted his body position superbly before crashing a fierce shot against the bar with the keeper a mere spectator.
Buriram were in full flow now and a move of real quality almost produced the killer third. Macena got clear in the box and laid the ball back for Diogo to send a delightful chip arrowing towards the top corner only for the keeper to pull off a superb save. The reprieve was short-lived.
From the resulting left-wing corner, Theerathon sent over a great cross which Tunez met perfectly to send a powerful header into the net. Not only has Tunez been missed in defence but also in the opposition penalty area from set pieces, welcome back !!
The game was now over as a contest,though it had never been much of a contest from the start. Such was Buriram’s dominance. Suree earned himself another yellow card just after the hour mark for another needless challenge.It is very disappointing the number of yellow cards Buriram pick up when there is no danger.
A minute later Diogo spotted the keeper off his line and an audacious chip from forty yards wasn’t far away. Jakkaphan then joined the stupid yellow card club following an unnecessary challenge in midfield and Suchao was replaced by Supachok.
Glass finally managed to create a chance for themselves twenty minutes from time when slack marking allowed them a clear sight of goal but the ball ended up in the side-netting. Macena was then replaced by Chaowat as Buriram were content to close the game down.
However, the home side did manage a consolation goal ten minutes from time when substitute Santana scored with a good header from a left-wing corner. Seul Ki went off for Rafael as there was no real danger of a Glass fightback, in fact Buriram should have increased their lead two minutes from time.
Rafael got through and turned inside his marker superbly to leave himself with just the keeper to beat from twelve yards. However he dragged a woeful shot wide of the post and there was just time for Narubadin to collect a yellow card for a spot of shirt pulling.
All in all a very good team performance and a very comprehensive victory away from home against one of the best teams in the league. As stated previously , it is no coincidence that a defence that had more holes than a slab of Swiss cheese in it, should suddenly work as a unit with the return of Tunez.
It also makes it easier for the strikers knowing that they are not going to have to score a lot of goals to get something out of a game. Consequently, the goals tend to flow anyway. Next up is Suphanburi (H) on Saturday August 15, 19.00.
I failed to report on the nasty injury sustained by Naraphol in the game against Sisaket on Sunday. He was the victim of a horrendous tackle which the referee took no action over. I hope the Thai FA put that right and we all here also hope that the injury is not serious.