Buriram stumbled to their third home defeat of the season against a very ordinary Ratchaburi side. A first-half stoppage time goal  was enough to secure the three points in a dreadful game that neither side deserved to win. There was little sign that the new coach is anywhere near turning things around.

It took Buriram forty-three minutes to register an attempt on goal , a skied effort from Anan who sadly once again showed that he is completely out of his depth. Add to that Tunez continuing to wage a one-man war on officials and you have a night to forget.

Tunez is a real concern. He is going down “injured” at every opportunity and his open show of contempt for the referee would have resulted in a red card from most officials. When a team is struggling, they look to the captain to lead from the front , and Tunez’s attitude leaves a lot to be desired..

The real worry is that Buriram created absolutely nothing, despite long periods of possession. They were bereft of ideas and whenever an attack did appear to be gaining momentum, it came to a halt and the ball was invariably played backwards.

There was no Seul-Ki and the Korean was badly missed, as was Koravit who made his long-awaited return in the League Cup. Supachok was inexplicably left-out but Jakkaphan did return, along with Suree and Chitipat.

Kaio dropped back into the right-side of midfield , leaving Anan and Yong up front. This was not a success as despite Kaio putting in his usual wholehearted effort, he does not possess the ball skills required in midfield.

Buriram’s first move of any note came in the ninth minute when Yong played a one-two with Kaio, before sending over a dangerous cross which just required a touch but Kaio failed to make contact.

Seven minutes later a left-wing corner was almost headed into his own net by a very relieved Ratchaburi defender. Shortly after Tunez went down on the right touchline, claiming he had been elbowed in the face by the petulant Heberty. Whatever the truth of the matter, there was no excuse for the way Tunez continued to behave towards the beleagured referee and the management really should deal with this situation quickly.

The first real chance fell to Ratchaburi in the thirty-first minute when Anan gave the ball away deep in his own half which resulted in a low shot on goal, fortunately straight at Siwarak.

Buriram almost took the lead three minutes later when Yong’s cross from the left struck a defender before looping onto the top of the crossbar.

Ratchaburi had another chance two minutes before the interval but once again the shot was straight at Siwarak. The visitors did take the lead in stoppage time when Narubadin made a complete hash of a pass and the ball eventually reached  Yannick completely alone in the area and he had the simplest of tasks to beat the hopelessly exposed Siwarak.

Buriram certainly did not deserve to be behind but their complete lack of penetration meant that there was always a danger that they would concede and be left chasing the game.

Supachok was introduced for the ineffective Anan and his pace and close control had an immediate effect as Buriram upped the tempo. It almost brought an equalizer in the forty-sixth minute when a delightful ball from Supachok played Chaowat through in the left-side of the box but he elected to shoot from an impossible angle and the ball was blocked.

Seven minutes later a good move down the right saw the ball crossed in for Supachok but he mis-hit his shot on the turn. Buriram then replaced Sathaporn with Anawin before almost going two down.

Chitipat received a yellow card for a foul on Heberty whose free-kick took a wicked deflection off the wall, only for Siwarak to make a superb save, diving low to his right. The resulting corner was headed against the Buriram post before being cleared.

After sixty-two minutes Tunez found Yong on the right-wing with a great ball but Kaio made a complete mess of the Korean’s inch-perfect cross. Buriram then replaced Jakkaphan with Surat which was odd, as Jakkaphan had looked one the one most likely to create something.

Buriram continued to huff and puff without really threatening until right on the final whistle a right-wing cross found Chitipat in the box but the big defender opted to try and guide his header into the net instead of going for power and the keeper saved, right on the line.

This latest set-back puts Buriram even further adrift of the leaders and the news that Macena has joined Bangkok United will have done nothing to raise their spirits.

On Wednesday June 15 Buriram meet Vongchavalitkul University at the I-mobile Stadium in the FA Cup, 6pm. It is expected that Diogo will make his much-anticipated return and we wish him well. Then on Saturday June 18 BEC Tero visit Thunder Castle for a league match, kick-off 7pm.