Buriram’s long unbeaten league run ended with a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Chiang Rai. It was certainly a game Buriram did not deserve to lose after almost totally dominating the second-half.
They had their chances but a combination of poor finishing, great goalkeeping and another less than competent referee saw them slip to defeat. There were a number of unacceptable incidents during the game and Chiang Rai’s Piyaphon was at the centre of most of them.
Buriram remained unchanged from their Korean heroics and it was a pretty uneventful first-half. Chiang Rai were reduced to speculative long-range efforts which were never going to trouble Siwarak.
The first real chance came in the 22nd minute when Diogo superbly pulled down a ball into the box before turning inside his marker. He hit his shot fractionally too close to the keeper who just managed to block it with his foot.
The ball rebounded to Suphachok whose fierce goal-bound shot struck a defender and flew to safety.
The deadlock was broken completely out of the blue in the 36th minute. A right-wing corner found Victor unmarked and his downward header went just inside the far-post.
It was a soft goal on two counts. Firstly Edgar’s attempted challenge on Victor was weak and secondly a defender on the post would have had an easy clearance. I find this tactic frustrating as it leads to a number of unnecessary goals.
I understand the principal of having an extra defender in the box instead of two on the line but I will never agree with it.
Buriram were desperately close to levelling in first-half stoppage time when Tunez did well to get his head to a free-kick but the ball went inches wide of the far-post with the keeper beaten.
The second-half saw Buriram camp out in the Chiang Rai half as they searched for the equalizer. Diogo as usual was coming in for some harsh treatment , particularly from the afore-mentioned Piyaphon. He was also guilty of trying to constantly goad Diogo into retaliating and a good referee would have dealt with the situation.
It all came to head in the 57th minute when Piyaphon scythed Diogo down yet again and when the Brazlian got to his feet the Chiang Rai midfielder again was trying to provoke him. Diogo simply pushed him aside and Piyaphon fell to the ground clutching his face.
This resulted in a yellow card for both of them but if the referee had afforded Diogo better protection earlier then it wouldn’t have happened. Indeed, Chiang Rai did their utmost to make things worse for Diogo shortly after. After conceding a free-kick, Diogo knocked the ball away which hit a home player. It was totally innocuous but half a dozen Chiang Rai players surrounded the officials in an attempt to have Diogo sent off.
This kind of behaviour is unacceptable and Alexandre Gama has gone down in my estimation for allowing his players to try and cheat. There is no other word for what Piyaphon and his mates got up to.
Buriram then brought on Pansa for Praweenwat in the 60th minute. Six minutes later Diogo was denied by a brilliant save by the home keeper who somehow managed to block his firm downward header from Jakkaphan’s free-kick.
Another great chance came and went in the 66th minute when following a short corner on the right, the ball was crossed for the unmarked Edgar to get hopelessly under the ball and send it high over the bar. It was a disappointing miss as the big striker made no attempt to jump and head the ball down.
The referee then took centre stage in the 77th minute when Junsoo took the ball past his marker in the box, only to have his heels clipped. It was a clear penalty but the referee gave nothing. If it was indeed not a foul, then Junsoo should have got a yellow card for diving. Dreadful decision.
Four minutes from time Buriram had another great opportunity when Sasalak’s right-wing cross came off a defender’s head to leave Edgar with the goal gaping before him but he was slow to react and lunged at the ball to send it way over the bar.
Chiang Rai were then content to waste time and hang on for a totally undeserved victory. Of course, Buriram were going to lose eventually. But it would have been nice for it to have been against a team who were the better team on the night and who stayed within the laws of the game.
At times, if the home team had been wearing red, it was like watching Muang Thong at their despicable “best” !
Buriram have the chance to bounce straight back when Nakhon Ratchasima visit the Chang Arena on Wednesday, April 25, 7pm.