Buriram outclassed Army FC to move into the second round of the League Cup. Kaio hit a hat-trick, whilst Weslley and Sung helped themselves to two apiece. Howver, the loss of Anon with a suspected broken collar bone has taken the gloss off the victory. It is a sad blow for the youngster as he was looking like becoming a first team regular for some time to come. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Buriram rested Siwarak, Tunez and Theerathon, with Votsapon, Sathaporn and Nattapol coming in. Seul-Ki dropped back to the centre of defence. Army FC are the reserve side for Army United and play in the Regional League Division Two so they were eagerly looking forward to locking horns with the Thai Champions.
Buriram showed them what to expect in the second minute when a ball in from the right was laid back by Kaio for Sung to fire over over the crossbar. It got worse for the minnows in the fourth minute when another right wing cross found Weslley completely unmarked and he made no mistake from close range.
Buriram began to attack at will, with Sung (twice) and Kaio going close. Army finally managed a strike on goal in the seventeenth minute but it was straight at Votsapon. Sung went close in the twenty-second minute when his downward header from Suchao’s right-wing corner bounced up onto the crossbar.
In the twenty-fifth minute Anon was felled in the area by a dreadful , lunging tackle which sent him crashing to the ground. He fell very heavily and it was obvious he was badly hurt. He was eventually carried of on a stretcher and taken straight to hospita. To add insult to injury, (pun intended) the referee saw nothing wrong with the challenge !!! Adul came on for Anon.
Buriram increased their lead nine minutes later when Suchao’s left-wing cross picked out Weslley and the Brazilian teed the ball up for Sung to finish with ease. Army then gifted Buriram a third in the fortieth minute when a suicidal back-pass found Weslley who in turn found Sung. The Korean played the ball in to Kaio, whose first touch was excellent, giving him the space to find the corner of the net.
It got worse for the home side deep into first-half stoppage time when a long ball out of defence allowed Weslley to run between two defenders before coolly slotting the ball into the bottom corner. It had been a very one-sided half, which was to be expected given the gulf between the two teams.
Buriram brought on Chaowat for Sathaporn and continued to attack but Army then pulled a goal back in the fifty-second minute. Yotsapon made a complete hash of a deep cross from the right and the ball was headed towards the far post and was probably going in but Pongsurigun made certain from almost on the line.
Weslley went close for Buriram before Adul played a nice ball in for Sung in the sixty-third minute and he beat the keeper with a cool finish. Supachok then came on for Suchao and Buriram added a sixth in the seventy-ninth minute. Good play down the middle set Kaio free but he was brought down twenty-three yards from goal.
He took the free-kick himself and a defender stuck out a leg to divert the ball past the wrong-footed keeper. Kaio then completed his hat-trick in the eighty-third minute when Weslley played him through and Kaio flicked the ball over and across the keeper, for a well-taken goal.
So goals for all the strikers but the loss of Anon makes it difficult to take much satisfaction from the performance. Some well-taken goals but we have to bear in mind the quality of the opposition. It WILL be more difficult against Chonburi on Friday.