Buriram United and True Bangkok United are set to face-off against one another in the 2022/23 Thai FA Cup final after prevailing in their respective semifinal matches at neutral venues on Wednesday night.
Taking on Police Tero at the Suphanburi Stadium in the early kick-off, Bangkok United ran rampant as the Angels proved themselves to be too much of a challenge for the Silver Shield Dragons to contend.
Thitiphan Puangchan gave Bangkok United the lead in the 13th minute, before Brazilian striker Willen Mota doubled the Angels’ lead in the 73rd minute. Former Persebaya Surabaya man Mahmoud Eid ensured that there would be no turning back for Police Tero after he had scored Bangkok United’s third of the game in the 79th minute, with Mota adding the icing on the cake in the 84th minute with his brace that sealed the thumping 4-0 win.
Buriram had a much tougher time against Port FC at the Dragon Solar Park in Ratchaburi Province, with the Lions of Khlong Toei forcing the Thunder Castles to a goalless first half.
It took the magic of Suphanat Mueanta to ensure that defending Thai FA Cup winners Buriram would still have a shot of defending their title, with his goal in the 59th minute and his 76th minute shot that was deflected into the Port goal by the Lions of Khlong Toei’s Brazilian defender Airton securing a 2-0 win for the Thunder Castles.
“Today we are very happy that we have won and qualified for the final,” said Buriram head coach Masatada Ishii in the post-match interview as quoted from Bangkok Post, “The players had worked very hard and I would also like to thank our supporters who came here to cheer us during this game – it had a powerful effect on the morale of our players and they kept fighting throughout the game.”
With Bangkok United being the very team that inflicted Buriram their first defeat after a 32-game unbeaten run earlier this month, May 28th’s final promises to be a grudge match like no other, which would see Buriram seeking a second-consecutive domestic treble – with Ishii’s men set to win this season’s Thai League 1 and are still alive in the Thai League Cup semifinals – while Bangkok United are gunning for their first-ever Thai FA Cup title, having lost their previous final to Leo Chiangrai United back in 2017.