Buriram suffered a second consecutive defeat which has severely dented their title challenge as they are now seven points adrift of leaders Muang Thong.
They found themselves three down after only 19 minutes but dragged themselves level, only to fall to a sucker punch deep into stoppage time. This game confirmed what many people feared at the beginning of the season, Buriram are simply not good enough.
The defence at times are all at sea and any team with genuine pace up front will cause them major problems. There is no dominant figure at the back,barking out orders like Osmar or Tunez.
The persistence of playing three at the back with the current personnel is asking for trouble. The coach still doesn’t seem to know what his best defensive line up is but whatever it may be, there is a need for an extra defender to cover for the lack of pace .
Seul-Ki apart, the midfield lacks genuine creativity with Jakkaphan in particular very disappointing with his distribution. All Buriram’s attacking threat comes from Diogo but he can’t create and score goals at the same time.
Ratchaburi went at Buriram from the start and they dominated possession , creating problems down the flanks. They took the lead in the 10th minute when a right-wing free-kick was headed home unchallenged by Sompon.
It got worse for Buriram seven minutes later when a left-wing corner was half-cleared to Takafumi standing all alone some 35 yards out and he hit a low first-time shot through a crowded penalty area which somehow found the corner of the net.
Unbelievably,two minutes later it was three ! A long ball out of defence saw Marcel easily outstrip the Buriram defenders to leave himself a clear run on goal. Siwarak started to come out, then retreated and almost got to the ball as he forced Marcel wide. However, the burly striker collected the loose ball and fired into the empty net.
The action continued as Buriram pulled one back in the 25th minute. An attack down the right saw Diogo wait for Narubadin to overlap before slipping the ball to him and he advanced before crossing low for Coelho to finish from close range.
A minute later Diogo found Coelho in space but the shot was well-saved. Back came Buriram and Diogo advanced on goal from the right but fired straight at the keeper.
Buriram had Ratchaburi rocking and on the half-hour mark Bordin made progress down the left before crossing for Diogo to arrow a header towards the corner of the net. It looked a goal all the way but the keeper somehow dived low to his right and turned the ball away. Great save.
That seemed to knock the stuffing out of Buriram and they had to wait until a minute before the interval for their next chance. Coelho reached a long ball just before the keeper but he toe-ended it wide of the post.
There was still time for Diogo to collect the ball near the half-way line and race goalwards with Ratchaburi defenders desperately trying to catch him. The Brazilian went down in the box amid claims he was fouled, however there appeared to be minimal if any contact and the referee rightly waved away penalty shouts.
A frenetic first-half and it seemed a certainty there were more goals to come, at either end. And so it proved.
Buriram replaced the disappointing Chitipat with Anon for the second-half, Narubadin dropping to full-back.
A fairly cagey opening saw little goalmouth action though Jakkaphan did get himself into trouble with some sloppy play which resulted in a yellow card for the skipper.
The home side carved out a great chance on the hour when Korracot crossed from the left for Diogo to provide a wonderful knock-down for Coelho but he shot straight at the keeper from close range.
Bordin was then replaced by Supachai before Buriram did finally pull another goal back in the 63rd minute. Diogo attacked down the right before finding Coelho with a great cross and the big striker got in front of his marker to find the net with a wonderful first-time finish.
Seul-Ki picked up a yellow for a clumsy challenge before Buriram got their third. Diogo’s speed and persistence in the box saw him collect the ball and move to his left. The keeper followed him and Diogo finally teased him into making a rash challenge which gave the referee no alternative but to point to the spot.
Diogo was calmness personified as he planted the ball right in the corner to give the keeper no chance of redeeming himself. The impetus now had to be with Buriram.
However, rather than see wave after wave of Buriram attacks, the visitors were let off the hook by Buriram’s inability to keep possession. Korrakot was surprisingly replaced by Phanuphong after 77 minutes in an attempt to provide something different.
Buriram were persisting with long balls forward and the Ratchaburi defence were coping rather easily. Indeed the visitors almost scored themselves three minutes from time but Siwarak came to the rescue with a brave block.
It still came as a shock when Ratchaburi wrapped up the points in the final minute of stoppage time. Dreadful defending allowed an attack to develop down the left and when the low cross came in, Marcel was on hand at the far post to turn the ball in from close range.
It was a sickening blow but in all honesty, Ratchaburi looked a far better team than Buriram. Their passing and movement was quick and incisive and they looked dangerous whenever they attacked. Marcel was a handful all night with his strength and pace , though he was a bit too physical for the referee’s liking on a number of occasions.
Diogo was outstanding and it doesn’t bear thinking about what Buriram would be like without him. There are just too many average players in the squad and one man who could have made a difference after Buriram drew level was Coutinho. But we won’t go into that !
Next game is at Sukothai on Saturday May 13, 5.45pm.