Buriram’s long run of league victories was halted in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Bangkok United. Slack defending gifted the home side both goals and Buriram were unfortunate to see Jakkaphan’s second-half shot come back off the post.
They also had the ball in the net in the second-half but it was mysteriously ruled out by the referee. There was certainly no foul committed and it has not been possible to see a replay . That being said, a draw was probably a fair result as neither side deserved to lose.
Buriram made two changes from the side which beat Osaka, Diogo coming in for Supachok and Sasalak came in for Korrakot.
The visitors got off to the perfect start with a goal in the 6th minute. A long ball out of defence found Diogo clear down the right, the striker let the ball bounce before hitting a great volley from thirty yards which the keeper managed to turn over the bar.
From the resulting right-wing corner , Tunez headed on at the near-post for Pansa to bury a header into the net.
The first yellow card of the match came in the 9th minute when Sasalak offered the referee some unwanted advice and straight after, the home side drew level.
Narubadin gave away an unnecessary free- kick out on the left and the Buriram defence allowed Teeratep to get in between two defenders to head home.
Ratthanakorn became the second Buriram player to be shown a yellow card for a stupid challenge in the 16th minute. Diogo also picked up a yellow card in the 40th minute as he attempted to take a quick free-kick and it is unclear what the referee saw amiss.
When the kick was retaken Diogo struck it well but just clipped the wall and the ball looped up and went straight to the keeper. Two minutes later , Siwarak got down well to his right to gather in a low shot.
Buriram took off Sasalak at the interval as the midfielder was in grave danger of being sent off by a somewhat eccentric referee, Supachok replaced him.
Buriram thought they’d regained the lead in the 47th minute when the ball was crossed in from the right and following a bit of a scramble, it ended up in the net. However, the referee ruled it out, much to the Buriram players’ disbelief.
Bangkok United then took the lead in the 55th minute. Robson played a one-two on the edge of the area to leave himself with only Siwarak to beat, which he did with a composed low finish. It was a poor goal from Buriram’s point of view, as the defence was static and not alert to the danger.
Buriram’s response was immediate and Narubadin played a ball in from the right and Junsoo headed it into the area. A defender took a swipe at the ball but missed it, leaving Edgar with an easy finish from close range.
There were few openings after that, Buriram having brought on Korrakot for Ratthanakorn in the 61st minute.
The champions were inches away from snatching victory in the 80th minute when Jakkaphan turned and fired in a low shot from the edge of the area but the ball came back off the post with the keeper beaten.
Three minutes later Siwarak did well to get down and block the ball at Robson’s feet as the striker tried to force the ball past him at the near post.
That was the end of the goalmouth action and both sides had to settle for a point. It was always going to be a tough game and a draw was a fair result.
Buriram’s next game is the return with Cerezo Osaka in Japan in the Champions League on Wednesday, March 14, 5pm. A tough one but at least Diogo will be back.