For the neutral, this was an entertaining game but for Buriram fans there was much to ponder and even worry about. The defence once again looked all at sea and even against ten men often found themselves cut wide open.
Make no mistake, Pattaya could easily have snatched a draw, spurning at least two golden chances. Playing Sieghart at left-back was an unmitigated disaster as he was constantly caught out of position.
Adisak looked to have no idea what his role was supposed to be , I assume he was the holding midfield player. Narubadin lacks the steel to be a solid defender and Suree was taken off before he was sent off.
The defence is constantly changing and the players are not getting the chance to settle in and develop understanding with each other. It appears the management have no idea what their best options are.
On the plus side, Chitpanya was once again outstanding and Diogo showed that he is the most talented player in Thailand. He was unstoppable and his pace and skill gave the Pattaya defence a night to forget.
They tried every means possible to contain him, often resorting to foul play . They did the same with Chitpanya and they were fortunate to only suffer one red card from a weak referee.
However, wonderful though Diogo was, he spent too much time out wide creating chances for others, particularly Moreira. Much was expected from the big striker but he is proving to be a huge disappointment.
Yet again, he missed a host of gilt-edged opportunities and his confidence in front of goal is ebbing away with every game. If only Macena was still here !
Diogo needs to be where he does the most damage, in the penalty area.
As usual, Buriram went behind, though this time in only the third minute. A right-wing corner was turned behind for another corner on the left. When the ball came into the box, the defence stood and watched as Pinto Junior directed a header into the net at the unguarded far-post.
I have never understood the tactic of not having defenders on each post for corners and once again it would have been a simple clearance had someone been there. Buriram poured forward in search of an equalizer but apart from a scramble in the box following a Chitpanya free-kick, never really threatened.
Indeed, they could have fallen further behind in the tenth minute when only a foul by Suree halted a move which had the Buriram defence stretched and outnumbered. The defender was rightly shown a yellow card.
Nine minutes later Chitpanya was brought down twenty-five yards out and he got up to hammer in a great shot which the keeper did well to turn over the bar.
A good move down the left in the twenty-first minute saw Moreira hit the resulting cross straight at the keeper from six yards. However, he was desperately unlucky six minutes later when Anon sent over a great cross from the left for Moreira to send an excellent diving header against the inside of the post. How the ball did not go in is a mystery.
Buriram did find the net in the thirty-eighth minute when following a Chitpanya free-kick, the ball broke for the completely unmarked Moreira to hammer home from close range.
He should have made it two a minute later when Diogo headed a left-wing cross back across goal for Moreira to head straight at the keeper when he had time and space to pick his spot.
Pattaya then broke quickly and caught the Buriram defence square but luckily the shot was pulled wide of the target. Shortly before the interval, Anon had a reasonable shooting chance from the edge of the area but his effort flew over the bar.
So, chances at both ends and the game was in the balance.
Buriram brought on Chitipat for Suree in an attempt to shore up a leaky defence and took the lead with a fine goal in the fifty-first minute when the ball was played into the box from midfield where it found Anon.
The young midfielder was in the left of the area and under intense pressure but he controlled the ball superbly before coolly finding the net at the far post. An excellent finish.
Two minutes later it was three when Diogo won the ball in midfield and ran clear down the left. He sent over a dangerous low cross, looking for Moreira and the unfortunate Tanasak stuck out a leg and diverted the ball into his own net.
Pattaya hit back immediately when a long ball from the left was retrieved on the right by-line with Sieghart nowhere in sight. The subsequent low cross saw two Buriram defenders fail to clear , leaving Pinto Junior the simple task of finding the net from close range.
Just after the hour Adisak was replaced by Baramee and shortly after Diogo sent over a low cross from the left for Moreira once again to fire straight at the keeper from ten yards.
In the sixty-seventh minute a superb Buriram move ,involving half-a-dozen one touch passes saw the ball eventually reach a completely unmarked Moreira in the area but he hesitated and didn’t even manage to get in a shot.
Pattaya were then reduced to ten men following a second yellow card after Diogo had once again been sent crashing to the ground.
A minute later Pattaya should have levelled when Pinto Junior was clear on goal but sent his shot wide of the target. A real let off. Buriram then replaced the injured Anon with Anawin shortly after.
Buriram finally got some breathing space seven minutes from time when Diogo collected a ball out of defence down the left before sending over a superb cross for Anawin in the right of the penalty area. He showed excellent control before burying a shot into the corner of the net at the far-post.
One of the Pattaya players went to ground claiming Diogo had elbowed him in the face when in fact he was simply out-muscled and the nearby referee’s assistant, quite rightly, was having none of it.
In the eighty-sixth minute Diogo went on a mazy solo run, leaving three defenders in his wake but the keeper was just able to gather the ball before he could pull the trigger.
Shortly after, another fine run saw him pick out the unmarked Moreira but the striker was simply too slow to react and the chance was gone.
So three important points but there is still much work to be done. The defence has to be sorted and Moreira cannot keep on missing so many easy chances. One option would be to move Supachok forward into a similar role to that of Macena.
It would be a good move for the youngster who is struggling to make an impact in midfield.
Buriram are at home again on Wednesday July 20 to Sukhothai in the league, 6pm before travelling to leaders Muang Thong on Sunday July 24 , 7pm.