Buriram United went down to a second Champions League defeat at the hands of Shandong Luneng in China. The Thai champions needed to put in a good performance after the hammering by FC Seoul and they may have been boosted by the news that the Koreans had thumped Hiroshima 4-1 with Adriano netting a hat-trick earlier in the day However, Buriram United never looked like repeating their heroics when they were last in China two years ago and were convincingly beaten, with two long-range efforts being their only shots on target.
In fact the game should have been over by half-time as Shandong missed a number of golden opportunites as the Buriram United defence once again proved vulnerable to the through-ball. It is almost a repeat of the early stages of last season when the defence was all over the place before getting their act together to become the meanest defence in the league. They had better sort themselves out soon as the signs are that goals are going to be very hard to come by with no Diogo or Macena. Kaio does plenty of running but at the moment he poses little serious threat and Anan is also not looking like a goalscorer .
Kaio was replaced by Anawin for the second-half following a rash challenge by the keeper (see above) and he was the victim of a similar challenge by the FC Seoul keeper. Had these been committed by an outfield player a red card would have probably ensued but referees let goalkeepers get away with far too much.
After a quiet opening Shandong had a great chance to open the scoring in the fifteenth minute. First Jakkaphan, then Tunez both missed a through ball leaving the striker a free run on goal but his fierce shot was inches too high. Three minutes later a low, left-wing cross flashed across the Buriram goalmouth with an inrushing forward just failing to turn the ball into the empty net. Buriram United had another let-off in the twenty-fifth minute when Siwarak saved a close-range shot with his leg following a right-wing cross,though I’m not sure he knew much about it.
On the half-hour mark Kaio noticed the keeper off his line and tried to lob him from the halfway line. The retreating keeper seemed to have the situation under control but the ball bounced right in front of him and he had to react quickly to turn it away. A minute later the Buriram United defence were caught by another through-ball and Siwarak did well to come out and block the low shot with his body.
Theerathon then found himself in space with a clear sight of goal following some neat play but sent his shot high and wide. Then just before the interval Tunez fired in a low shot from twenty-five yards but it was easily dealt with by the keeper.
So level at half-time but Buriram United were lucky not to be three down. Buriram United made two changes for the second-half with Anawin coming on for Kaio and Nattapon coming on for Chitipat.
Narabudin became the first player to receive a yellow card for going in with his foot slightly raised, though it was a little harsh. The home side had another great chance in the fifty-seventh minute when Diego was through on goal but pulled his shot inches wide of the post. Dreadul marking again.
Shandong finally made the break through in the sixty-fourth minute when a right wing cross came in and broke off a Buriram defender to the unmarked Diego four yards out and he couldn’t possibly miss. Two minutes later a frustrated Tunez was booked for a rash challenge and though Buriram were pushing forward, they showed little sign of getting back into the game.
Ten minutes from time the Chinese made it safe when a right-wing corner produced a free-header at the near-post which Siwarak did well to keep out but Jucilei was the first to react and he smashed the loose ball into the net. Five minutes later full-back Zhao made a run down the right and cut inside before attempting a cross with the outside of his right-foot which crept into the net at the far-post.
That summed up Buriram United’s afternoon. Another game to forget as Buriram United open their league proramme on Saturday March 5 with a tricky game at Bangkok United, 6pm. As a school report often says, “Must do better !”