{"id":19166,"date":"2019-08-12T19:15:35","date_gmt":"2019-08-12T10:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/?p=19166"},"modified":"2019-08-12T19:15:35","modified_gmt":"2019-08-12T10:15:35","slug":"buriram-retain-top-spot-port-emerge-victorious-in-bitter-derby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/2019\/08\/12\/buriram-retain-top-spot-port-emerge-victorious-in-bitter-derby\/","title":{"rendered":"Buriram Retain Top Spot, Port Emerge Victorious in Bitter Derby"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gian Chansrichawla<\/strong><\/p>\n

Football Tribe SEA Editor<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With the climax of the Thai League season fast approaching, many teams remain within touching distance of the top of the table. With no side able to put a solid winning run together, the race remains tight, with every weekend serving up a multitude of talking points across a number of exciting matches. Keep up to date with Matchday 23’s action here:<\/p>\n

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Credit – Port FC Official<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Port Break 10-Year Barren Run<\/h3>\n

Port FC beat bitter rivals Muangthong United on home soil for the first time in 10 years, completing an incredible three-peat of victories over the Kirin this season.<\/p>\n

Muangthong have been resurgent in recent weeks, winning seven of their last eight games to throw themselves back into the conversation at the top of the table after beginning the second leg of the season in the relegation zone. However, Port have caught a second wind at just the right time, dispatching Chiangrai in the FA Cup before turning up to Sunday’s derby.<\/p>\n

With a raucous crowd on their side, Muangthong United coach Alexandre Gama centered his first-half game-plan around controlling the home side’s furious advances, hoping to catch them out on the break when their energy began to wane. After a goalless first half, the visitors began to be more adventurous going forward, only to grant enough space and time for Sumanya Purisai to score his third goal in two games and give his side the opener.<\/p>\n

Now chasing the game, Muangthong made a number of offensive substitutions, but none were able to break past the visitor’s rigid defensive shape. Brazilian striker Josimar Rodrigues wrapped up the three points in the dying minutes of the game, powering in an excellent shot from range to atone for an earlier miss and seal the victory.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Credit – Buriram United Official<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Buriram Retain Top Spot<\/h3>\n

Defending champions Buriram United had to contend with a water-logged pitch, a run of six away games in a row and a ban for head coach Bozidar Bandovic when they faced Trat FC last night. Having been taken to penalties by the same side on Wednesday, they were once again forced to leave it late, ultimately needing a goal from Nacer Barazite in the 84th minute to separate the two sides.<\/p>\n

The Dutch-Morrocan forward scored after Buriram captain Andres Tunez quickly restarted play from a free-kick, much to the chagrin of the home side, who protested the move by walking off the pitch. However, after a lengthy standoff, the game continued and Buriram saw out the 1-0 win.<\/p>\n

Buriram managed to narrowly fend off Chiangrai United, who recovered from their midweek loss against Port by pulling off an impressive 3-0 win over Samut Prakan City and stay within one point of the league leaders.<\/p>\n

Youngster Ekanit Panya fired in yet another goal since returning to his parent club to give them the lead just before the break, changing the dynamic of the game. The Beetles, who have been one of the league’s most formidable sides on the road this season, showed their ability to defend a lead once again through the second period.<\/p>\n

William Henrique added a second goal just minutes after the restart in a lightning-quick counter-attack and added a third in the 65th minute after robbing the ball off defender Kim Ho-Yeong and skillfully dinking the ball over the stranded goalkeeper.<\/p>\n

This is the Sea Fang’s fifth loss in sixth games, as the absence of captain Peeradol Chamratsamee and the lack of strong backup options is beginning to show itself.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Credit – True Bangkok United<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mano Polking Raises the Stakes<\/h3>\n

After beating Nakhon Ratchasima in midweek’s FA Cup tie, Bangkok United returned home to face a Chainat side which desperately needed points to stay clear of the relegation zone. The Hornbills found themselves with the majority of the possession in the first half, something which they did not expect, and ultimately went in at the break goalless.<\/p>\n

However, the hosts found space on the counter to see off a highly professional victory, with goals from Sanrawat Dechmitr and Vander Luis securing the victory for the Angels.<\/p>\n

In his press conference after the game, Bangkok United manager Mano Polking explained<\/a> that the club’s public statement<\/a> declaring that the team and coach would part ways was indeed his own idea. Explaining his rationale, the coach said that h<\/p>\n

Mano has made it clear to his players that they will need to fight in order to save his position at the club, and pick up either the FA Cup or Thai League trophies this season. Despite the added pressure, the coach remains confident that his side will win a trophy and extend his five-year stay at the club.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n
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Credit – Sukhothai FC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sukhothai and Prachuap Share The Spoils<\/h3>\n

Chainat’s loss at Bangkok United saw them drop back into the relegation zone, as Sukhothai and Prachuap managed to share the points in a 1-1 draw.<\/p>\n

All three teams went into this most recent matchday on 24 points, with the Killer Wasps taking up the final relegation spot. Sukhothai had just managed to haul themselves out of the drop zone by collecting their first win of the season, followed a draw after the return of former coach Pairoj Borwonwatanadilok.<\/p>\n

The hosts were eager to avoid dropping back in after their recent results, but found themselves on the receiving end for most of the first half, managing their first attempt in the 20th minute. Prachuap finally took the lead in the 55th minute courtesy of Maurinho, putting them on course to pick up an incredibly valuable three points on the road.<\/p>\n

However, the hosts were able to hit back 13 minutes later when talisman John Baggio floated a ball to the back post, headed in by towering defender Joel Sami to level the game and leave both sides relatively unsatisfied with a mere point from this critical six-pointer.<\/p>\n

The next day, Nakhon Ratchasima missed their chance to push themselves further away from the drop zone when they were held to a 1-1 draw against a defensively disciplined Suphanburi side who were also battling for their lives at the bottom of the table. The hosts took the lead after just 14 minutes, as Amadou Ouattara put them ahead from a well-worked set-piece. However, the War Elephants refused to lie down as Dellatorre teed up Meechok for the equalizer six minutes before half time.<\/p>\n

The draw keeps the Swatcats four points and three places clear of the relegation zone, while Suphanburi are left three points from safety, despite going on a seven-game unbeaten run, consisting of five draws and two wins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gian Chansrichawla Football Tribe SEA Editor   With the climax of the Thai League season fast approaching, many teams remain within touching distance of the top of the table. With no side able to put a solid winning run together, the race remains tight, with every weekend serving up a multitude of talking points across a number of exciting matches. Keep up to date with Matchday 23’s action here: Port Break 10-Year Barren Run Port FC beat bitter rivals Muangthong United on home soil for the first time in 10 years, completing an incredible three-peat of victories over the Kirin this season. Muangthong have been resurgent in recent weeks, winning … Continue reading “Buriram Retain Top Spot, Port Emerge Victorious in Bitter Derby”<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":19167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,38],"tags":[226,220,680,104,904,95,1686],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19166"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19166"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19172,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19166\/revisions\/19172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}