Obb Deewajin
Football Tribe Thailand
Buriram United have taken a massive step towards their third consecutive Thai League title with a victory over contenders and early season leaders Port FC, setting up a dramatic final day with one more title challenge from Chiangrai United left to ward off.
Even though every game kick-off at 18:00, all eyes are on the Chang Arena where league leaders Buriram United welcomed 3rd-place Port FC, who could overtake them with a win, in front of a season-high crowd of 32,538 people.
Center-back Pansa Hemviboon was absent from the squad and is replaced by Ratthanakorn Maikami who dropped down from midfield to form a 3-man defense with Andres Tunez and Apiwat Ngualamhin.
As for the visitors, a win was a must to carry on their title bid. Sumanya Purisai returned to the starting XI in place of midfield creator Go Seul Ki, who is on loan at Port from Buriram themselves and is unavailable to face his parent club. The rest of the Lions’ team was unchanged from their last league game when they demolished Chainat Hornbill 4-0.
To nobody’s surprise, it was Bozidar Bandovic’s men who got underway in style – in winning corners and restricting Port FC in their own half early on. Yet, the game’s first clear chances came when Port’s right-winger Pakorn Prempak got on the end of Andres Tunez’s misplaced pass, ran down the right flank, and hit the crossbar with his deep cross.
Buriram was still the dominant side but lapses in concentration meant that no one was able to close-down Sergio Suárez. The Spanish attacking midfield received the ball down the middle and just outside the penalty area, quickly looking up and letting fly beyond the reaches of newly ordained Thailand number one Siwarak Tedsungnoen.
Past the half-hour mark, Worawut Srisupa pulled off a save to deny Supachok Sarachat’s low shot only to be beaten by his strike partner Nacer Barazite, just seconds later. The replay, though, clearly shown the ex-Arsenal man was offside.
The equalizer sent Port FC into panic mode and Choketawee Promrut’s troops conceded their second goal just three minutes after the first.
From a corner situation, Nititpong Selanon receive the ball at the halfway line and tried to force his way forward. Unfortunately, he was pressured out of possession – the ball fell to Buriram right-back Sasalak Haiprakhon who quickly set Supachok Sarachat free, who found himself in a one-on-one with Worawut Srisupa. The in-form attacker didn’t miss this time, making it 2-1 to the Thunder Castle.
Looking to redeem himself, Nititpong hurried forward and manage to draw a save from Siwarak Tedsungnoen, but the experienced keeper did well to parry the shot away with his lap. The hosts went into the break with their slim lead intact.
After the break, Choketawee Promrut ordered his side to hold a higher defensive line and adopt a more positive approach in order to chase the game.
This tactical change gave the Buriram attackers more spaces to exploit. Ten minutes into the second half, a fancy spin set Kevin Ingreso free down the byline, but right-back Narubadin Weerawatnodom couldn’t connect with the Filipino international’s cutback.
Towering defender Elias Dolah was constantly getting dragged out of position by Supachok Sarachat’s movement. In one instance, Elias followed Supachok out of position and left a huge gap in the middle of the defense. Supachok spun away from Elias and sprints towards that gap – looking to get onto Sasalak’s through-ball like the second goal. However, the linesman flagged Supachok offside, which was a wrong decision as Elias made contact with the pass as the ball was traveling from Sasalak to Supachok – the second massive mistake by the officials.
It didn’t take long for calamity number three to strike. In the 67th minute, Sasalak fired a shot wide off target after the referee waved play on from Elias Dolah’s foul on Nacer Barazite. However, Buriram were somehow awarded a freekick at the edge of the box, sending the Port players wild. To make matters worse for the visiting players, Ingreso angled in a sublime freekick to put the game largely beyond doubt for the defending champions.
Earlier, Rolando Blackburn replaced the pacey Bodin Phala to increase presence in the opposition box but the Panamanian made little impact on the game.
After Buriram’s 3rd goal, Choketawee swapped Pakorn Prempak for the more direct Nurul Sriyankem as well as bringing on left-back Martin Steuble and pushing Kevin Deeromram further forward.
In the end, it didn’t matter much as the match finished 3-1 to the home side.
With this result, Buriram have the advantage going into the final day of the season, sitting two points ahead of Chiangrai and traveling to face the already relegated Chiangmai FC. Meanwhile, this result spells the end of the title chase for Port, who will remain in third place regardless of their result next Saturday.