Buriram United left it late to see off a battling Navy at Thunder Castle. It took a hotly-disputed penalty to break the deadlock, though the photo above shows the referee got it right. Whether he was right or wrong, the length and manner of the visitors’ protests were nothing short of disgraceful and action needs to be taken by the FA.
Officials should not be subjected to this kind of abuse and it does nothing to improve the standard of match officials. When are players all over the world going to get it into their heads that no referee will EVER change their decision because of being badgered by disgruntled players. They CAN’T unless it’s after a consultation with an assistant.
Whilst on the subject of players’ behaviour, it’s time they stopped feigning injury and get on with the game. This match went beyond ridiculous with countless occurences of players staying on the floor when there was nothing wrong with them. They should be embarrassed as football is a contact sport and going back into the mists of time, it used to be called a man’s game.
Buriram’s match-winner was Tunez and whilst I admire him greatly as a player, he is constantly contesting decisions with the officials and it does him no favours whatsoever. It’s time he focussed on playing football and let the officials get on with their job.
This was a very different performance by Buriram from Sunday. Against Bangkok United they played without a recognized front-man and they tore the home side’s defence apart with midfield players interchanging and making runs from deep, into the wide open spaces created.
Kaio came back into the side and Buriram United became very predictable , launching long balls forward or delivering high crosses into the box which were easily dealt with by the Navy defence, especially the goalkeeper who never looked like missing one.
Buriram left out Jakkaphan and Anawin and the midfield was congested with not enough width . Both players are excellent at exploiting space wide and Anawin is capable of delivering telling crosses into the box by getting to the byline. Too many crosses were sent over from deep positions, causing very few problems.
The exception was Theerathon who was back to his imperious best and was involved in many of Buriram’s better moments. Nukoolkit was at right back and along with his fellow defenders , looked solid.
In the first minute Theerathon whipped in a low cross from the left which flashed across the goal and just past the far post. Six minutes later Kaio and Theerathon combined well down the left but the latter’s cross was blocked. Then Theerathon got away down the left again but his cross was headed over by Kaio.
Buriram were playing some neat football but creating very little. In the eighteenth minute Suchao found space near the left edge of the box but his low shot was just wide.Two minutes later Nukoolkit received a yellow card for a tackle from behind before the Navy keeper made a smart take from Suchao’s free-kick from wide left.
After thirty minutes Buriram finally managed to get a through ball to Kaio in the clear but the keeper was out quickly to block at the Brazilian’s feet. This was repeated five minutes later, again the keeper showed good anticipation. Just before the interval Theerathon got to the byline down the left but his dangerous cross was well taken by the impressive Navy keeper.
So a half of very few clear chances and Buriram had not really caused the visitors many problems With this in mind, Buriram brought on Jakkaphan for Chaowat for the second-half. Navy almost took a shock lead in the first minute of the half when Siwarak saved a low twenty-five yard shot, diving to his right to turn it round the post.
Jakkaphan was certainly making a difference as Buriram started to look more incisive and Theerathon found him in space down the left in the fiftieth minute but the midfielder just couldn’t keep the ball in play. A minute later Seul-Ki received treatment for a head injury following a left-wing corner.
In the fifty-seventh Kaio made a good run down the left and his cross found Jakkaphan who fired over. Four minutes later, Navy almost stunned the home side with a remarkable free-kick. It must’ve been all of forty yards from goal and the Navy player, with hardly any run-up,fired in a fierce low shot which Siwarak superbly turned round the post, diving to his right. It really was a stunning strike.
Immediately after, Theerathon progressed down the left before pulling the ball back for Seul-Ki , standing completely free on the edge of the box. The Korean tried to side-foot the ball into the net but sent the ball high over the crossbar. Buriram then brought on Anon for Yong.
The youngster settled in quickly, looking very assured on the ball and posing a real threat. In the sixty-eighth minute Tunez found Jakkaphan with a lovely, long , low pass and the midfielder charged into the box but his cross was blocked. Four minutes later, following a lovely, flowing move, the ball was crossed in but Jakkaphan tried an impossible volley to sky the ball high and wide.
Buriram then brought on Anan for Seul-Ki fifteen minutes from time but once again the big striker was to disappoint, looking completely out of his depth.Ten minutes from time Theerathon sent over a great cross but Kaio’s header was saved at the expense of a corner.
Theerathon’s cross was half-cleared and Tunez collected the ball and forced his way through two tackles before going down in the box. The referee immediately pointed to the spot as all hell broke loose with the whole Navy team surrounding the beleagured official. I have to say that at the time , I thought it was a harsh decision but as it turns out, the referee was entirely correct. A tackle from behind is always a risk.
When the furore finally died down, Tunez easily beat the valiant keeper with a low shot into the corner. Navy now had to push forward and Buriram caught them with a quick counter-attack down the right, five minutes from time. Jakkaphan was in the clear and he cut inside and shot from a tight angle but the keeper made a good save.
Then a minute from the end Kaio reached a long ball and headed it past the keeper but was just unable to gather it before it went out of play. Deep into stoppage time , Theerathon set Kaio free down the left and the Brazilian turned inside before firing in a low shot which the keeper turned away.
With the referee ready to blow for time, Navy won a corner on the right and the ball was headed narrowly wide, with more than just a few Buriram hearts skipping a beat. That was the end of the action and Buriram ran out deserved, if narrow winners.
This was by no means a sparkling performance. Too often Buriram were far too predictable but the introduction of Jakkaphan certainly improved things. There is no doubt in my mind that Buriram are better with him in the team. However, he really does need to work on his finishing as he does miss a lot of chances.
Kaio works hard and does cause problems but at the moment he does not look like the clinical finisher that Buriram need. Maybe a couple of goals would boost his confidence , we shall see.
The next game is on Saturday, March 12 , kick off 6pm, when Buriram make the long trip to Chiang Rai.