Buriram United won the Kor Royal Cup in Bangkok with a convincing performance against their fierce rivals Muang Thong. Buriram United dominated for long periods with Diogo giving the Muang Thong defence a night they will want to forget. The Brazilian teased and tormented them,scoring a stunning individual goal before setting up Jakkaphan for the killer third .
Diogo was unstoppable despite Muang Thong’s attempts to do so by fair means or foul. The Buriram United midfield dominated for long periods giving the new-look Muang Thong little chance to get into the game. There were a few contentious decisions and Muang Thong were arguing with the officials after the final whistle.
However, the harsh reality they must face is they were outclassed by Buriram United and showed little sign of achieving that much-longed for first victory over the Champions.They can have no complaints about the result and Buriram United showed they have no intention of resting on their laurels from last season.
Buriram United attacked from the start and could and perhaps should have been awarded a penalty in the second minute when Seul-Ki was felled in the area but a corner was the result.The Korean then tried his luck from twenty-five yards but his well-struck shot was straight at the keeper. Buriram United produced a good move in the twelfth minute when Jakkaphan sent Kaio away down the left and Diogo just failed to reach his low cross.
Two minutes later Buriram United did take the lead with a piece of individual brilliance from Diogo. Anawin found him with a quick throw down the right and Diogo advanced before taking the ball past a defender with the outside of his right-foot and dinking the ball over the outstretched keeper.
Sheer genius and had it been Messi, Neymar or Ronaldo the whole world would be raving about it. Muang Thong responded with a quick break which saw Tunez get in a good block on a goal-bound shot.
At the other end, the Muang Thong keeper appeared to carry the ball out of his area as he cleared the ball but replays showed the ball was in the air as it left the area and not in the keeper’s hands so justice was done when Suchao sent the free-kick straight at the relieved stopper. Buriram United were in total control and their opponents should have been down to ten men when Diogo was taken out by a dreadful thigh-high tackle that did not even produce a yellow card in the thirty-third minute.
Buriram United came close to increasing their lead a minute later. First they had a good claim for a penalty when Jakkaphan went down under a heavy challenge. The referee awarded a corner and from Theerathon’s left-wing cross Tunez powered in a header which the keeper did very well to turn away.
Suchao became the first Buriram United player to go in the referee’s book in the forty-first minute following some sloppy Buriram United defending. Diogo was still causing problems and another Muang Thong defender received a yellow card for a bad challenge. Seul-Ki joined him in first-half stoppage time for an unnecessary challenge . An excellent half for Buriram United who were by far the better team and more goals looked likely in the second period.
Buriram United replaced Suchao with Adul which was a straight swap and the midfielder almost made a dream start when he crashed a thirty-yard shot against the crossbar with the keeper nowhere.
Five minutes later he was brought down outside the box but Diogo’s free-kick hit the wall and went out for a corner on the left. Theerathon’s cross was met my Seul-Ki at the near post but he was unable to direct his header on target.
Muang Thong brought on former Buriram United striker Adisak in the fifty-sixth minute and he almost made an immediate impact but was halted by a superb last-ditch tackle by Theerathon. Kaio then had a good low effort saved by the keeper in the sixty-third minute . Two minutes later Buriram United increased their lead with a controversial penalty.
The Muang Thong keeper made a hash of a goalkick and Kaio was brought down from behind as he advanced on goal. The referee immediately pointed to the spot amidst furious Muang Thong protests. Tv replays showed that the defender got a touch on the ball outside the box and the first contact was made outside the area..However, the defender was also lucky to stay on the pitch as he denied Kaio a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Generally now, if a player goes down following a tackle from behind it is deemed a foul regardless of whether the ball is played first. It’s taken many replays to see what actually happened and it was such a difficult call for the referee. Justice was probably done as there was an excellent chance that Kaio would have scored.Tunez calmly waited for order to be restored before scoring with his customary ease.
Five minutes later it was almost game over. Jakkaphan put the ball in the net only to be ruled offside. Replays showed that it was very, very close and Buriram can consider themselves very unlucky. Shortly after Kaio was replaced by Moritz and Muang Thong then surprisingly got back into the game. Buriram United gave the ball away on the left and when a low cross came in Adisak drilled the ball past Siwarak at his near post.
Once again, Adisak indicated to his teammates that he did not wish to celebrate, a nice touch which does him credit. Two minutes later it was Muang Thong’s turn to claim a penalty when the ball hit Seul-Ki’s hand in the area. There was no hand-to-ball movemennt and Seul-Ki turned his head away but I have seen them given.
Anawin was then replaced by Suree. Buriram United responded well and made the game safe nine minutes from time thanks to that man Diogo. Moritz found him wide left and Diogo took the ball to the byline before cheekily turning inside a defender and gently lifting the ball to the far-post to leave Jakkaphan with the simplest of headers.
It was another piece of outstanding skill by the Brazilian and it poses the question, just how good is he? Not long after he had two Muang Thong defenders twisting and turning before one of them put an end to the fun with a scything tackle.
Muang Thong did get the ball in the net in stoppage time and like Buriram United they can consider themselves a little unfortunate to be flagged offside. That being said, it would have given the scoreline a completely unrealistic look. Buriram United were streets ahead in every department and Muang Thong can have no complaints about the result, as stated earlier.
