A spectacular, acrobatic overhead-kick in the last minute gave Buriram a 2-1 victory against Guangzhou R & F in the Asian Champions League. It was an excellent performance after Buriram fell behind in the first-half.
However, they responded superbly and deservedly equalized just before the break with a header by the outstanding man-of-the-match Seul-Ki.
Buriram faced a daunting task when they traveled to China to face Guangzhou in the Champions League. The home team had won away in Japan in their opening match so Buriram knew they would have their hands full.
The opening exchanges were lively with both teams showing their attacking intent but without creating clear-cut chances. A vicious Theeraton in-swinging corner had the home keeper struggling in the ninth minute but the ball was cleared.
Two minutes later a great ball into the box found Diogo but he took far too long to control the ball which was cleared for a corner. Again, the keeper was unconvincing and once more got away with a weak punch.
Buriram were looking comfortable but fell behind in the twenty-seventh minute. A diagonal ball into the box saw Lun Lin run beyond the static Buriram centre-backs to just get a toe to the ball and divert it past the stranded Siwarak.
It was a disappointing way to concede with the defence guilty of ball-watching. The next few minutes were going to be critical with the Chinese crowd urging their side forward.
However, Buriram composed themselves and apart from a yellow card for Namwiset for a late challenge, were not in any real trouble and began to push forward more themselves.
They forced a couple of corners before creating a great opportunity to draw level. Prakit found Diogo unmarked in the box with a great cross but the Brazilian completely missed his kick with the goal begging.
Five minutes later Macena burst through down the right before sending in a powerful shot but the angle was tight and the keeper saved at his near post at the expense of a corner.
Once again Theeraton sent over an in-swinger and his perfect cross found Seul-Ki who made no mistake with a firm header into the net . Great delivery and a well-deserved equalizer at an ideal time to score.
The Chinese looked stunned but almost regained their lead in the final minute of the first-half. Their Moroccan striker broke clear down the right and pulled the ball back across goal, only for Siwarak to make a good save from the resulting shot.
So Buriram went in level at the interval with their tails up. Once again the defence had held its shape well when the opposition tried to exert pressure and they looked dangerous themselves on the break.
Buriram made a positive start to the second-half and three minutes in almost went ahead. Macena made progress down the right before drilling a low centre across goal which the keeper almost let slip from his grasp.
Suchao then was rather unfortunate to receive a yellow card for an innocuous challenge which the Chinese made a meal of.(No pun intended !!). Shortly after, Buriram had a golden opportunity to take the lead.
A long ball was flicked left to leave Prakit with a clear sight of goal but when a composed finish was required, he lashed wildly at the ball and the chance was lost though some Buriram players were claiming handball in the area.
In the fifty-sixth minute Buriram had the home side rocking once again when a great cross-field pass found Theeraton out wide on the left. He delivered a superb first-time cross into the box which just evaded the unmarked Diogo.
The home side were not being idle and carved out a great chance on the hour mark.They worked the ball neatly into the box and forced Siwarak into an excellent save with his legs from the newly-introduced substitute.
If he had been on the pitch longer it might well have been a different result.Back came Buriram and Macena was only just wide when a flick by Diogo found him in space. Diogo then headed wide from an inch-perfect Theeraton cross.
After seventy minutes Prakit was replaced by Surat and eight minutes later Diogo worked himself a shooting chance but his left-foot shot was high and wide.
Five minutes from time an extremely unpleasant incident almost soured an excellent match. Suchao committed a foul and the Chinese surrounded the referee, urging him to send off the already-booked midfielder.
I find it distasteful that players try to get a fellow-professional sent off. However, Diogo then got involved and after a minor tussle fell to the ground. He claimed that he had been hit but there was clearly no contact made.
He had to be restrained and was in danger of being sent-off himself. It is to be hoped that in future he realizes his theatrical talents are not likely to bring him any plaudits and he should stick to football.
When order was finally restored the game continued and it looked like it was going to end in stalemate. However, Macena had other ideas, grabbing a spectacular winner in the eighty-ninth minute.
A long ball forward found Diogo who managed to get his head to the ball and send it in the direction of Macena. With his back to goal, the Brazilian showed great control and athleticism to send an overhead kick over the despairing keeper and into the net.
It did take a slight deflection off a defender’s shoulder but it was a truly outstanding piece of skill, worthy of winning any match. Macena’s acrobatic celebrations were very impressive too.
Buriram managed to survive five minutes of injury time to claim a famous and well-deserved victory. At one time during the game, the English commentators suggested Buriram might find themselves out of their depth.
Not a bit of it. It was a tremendous away performance and everyone played their part. However, special mention must be made of young Narubodin who showed maturity beyond his years and is an outstanding prospect.
But the star of the show was Seul-Ki. He ran the midfield from start to finish and his control and vision was the springboard for most of Buriram’s attacks. He thoroughly deserved his goal and has grown in stature with every game.
Buriram now travel to Suphanburi on Saturday March 7th, 7pm where a certain Senor Carmelo will be waiting to greet them.This is followed by a home match against Chonburi on Wednesday March 11th, 7pm.