Buriram got back to winning ways with a deserved 2-0 triumph at Bangkok Glass. It came as a bit of a surprise considering Buriram’s recent poor form but the home side didn’t manage a single shot on target whilst Buriram could easily have scored another two goals.

However, it has to be said that the front players contributed very little once again and never looked like adding to their woeful number of goals this season. Kaio has major problems staying onside and when he does , his running and control are simply not good enough.

Apart from a couple of useful crosses , the same can be said of Yong and the second-half of the season can’t come soon enough for Buriram. On the plus side, the defence looked solid and Buriram had several periods of good possession , sometimes playing some neat one-touch football.

Sadly, mis-placed passes when under no pressure were far too evident, often bringing promising moves to an abrupt halt. Still, as previously stated a welcome and deserved three points. One distasteful tactic of Bangkok Glass was their deliberate targetting of the promising Supachok.

They had obviously identified him as Buriram’s main threat and kicked him from pillar to post throughout the game. To the youngster’s credit he just kept getting up, ready to take the next one. He showed great strength and maturity and he received little protection from a very poor referee.

Buriram brought in Surat at right-back and Sathaporn at left-back, with Suree coming into midfield in place of Anawin. After a quiet opening, Glass attacked down the right and a low cross was turned behind for a corner by Suree .

After fourteen minutes Seul-Ki was rather harshly shown a yellow card after Glass had attacked down the left and although their striker took the ball round Siwarak, he was unable to keep it in play.

Three minutes later an excellent Buriram move down the right saw Yong send over a good cross, only for Kaio to make a complete hash of his attempted header.

In the nineteenth minute, Supachok was brought down for the first, but sadly not the last time but Suchao’s free-kick cannoned into the wall. A period of midfield sparring followed before Supachok was taken out by a dreadful challenge in the thirty-third minute but incredibly the referee took no action.

Two minutes later Buriram had another free-kick about thirty-yards out, slightly left of centre. The kick was entrusted to Yong who sent an awful shot high over the bar. I find it incredible that any professional footballer doesn’t know that if you lean back, there is only one place the ball is going to go……UP !!

Although Buriram were having the better of things, it still came as a bit of a surprise when they took the lead in the thirty-sixth minute. After good play down the right, it looked like the move was going to break-down near the corner-flag. However, Narubadin seized on the loose ball and his low pull-back found Seul-Ki completely unmarked, right in front of goal and he finished with ease.

Just before the interval , Buriram put together a good move which left two players injured and the referee waving play on. The game was halted when Supachok was felled yet again for a fruitless free-kick.

Although a one goal lead is never enough, it has to be said that the Buriram defence had been in almost total control and there was every reason to be optimistic for the second-half.

Within two minutes of the restart, Supachok was felled by a vicious elbow in the ribs but once again there was no card. Supachok was then brought down heavily twice in the next two minutes with the referee finally able to locate his yellow card for the second one.

After fifty-five minutes Narabudin received a yellow card for what was just about his first foul and a minute later Kaio was pulled back as he attempted to get clear down the right channel, which also resulted in a yellow card for the offender.

Seven minutes later Supachok was sent crashing to the ground again and shortly after Kaio received a yellow card for kicking the ball away after being caught offside….again ! In the sixty-eighth minutute, the Glass keeper failed to reach a left-wing cross but when the ball reached Seul-Ki, the Korean sent it high over the bar.

Supachok was then fouled yet again and in the seventieth minute Sathaporn received a ridiculous yellow for diving, when in actual fact he jumped over an outstretched leg in a vain attempt to stay on his feet.

A minute later Kaio should have made the game safe when the ball was pulled back from the right for him on the edge of the area, following an excellent team move, but the unmarked Brazilian failed to hit the target.

Shortly after Yong, who was suffering from cramp was replaced by Weslley and five minutes later the limping Supachok was replaced by Anawin. I have rarely seen one player take so much punisment. It wasn’t the number of fouls, it was the severity of them and there is no doubt in my mind they were designed to get Supachok out of the game.

It’s ironic for Glass that Supachok’s replacement was to sew the game up for Buriram a few minutes later. Before that though, the referee made his worst decision of the night when a dreadful backpass found Anawin free in the right of the area and as he went round the keeper, he was hauled down.

Anawin had gone very wide but it was a stonewall penalty and a yellow card but the referee made himself look very foolish by giving nothing. If it wasn’t a penalty, it was a yellow card for diving. I will say no more on the matter !

Seven minutes from time justice was done when Tunez found Anawin in the box with a long free-kick which the midfielder controlled superbly before firing a low shot into the net under the diving keeper.

This must have upset our errant official as two minutes later he issued Surat with a second yellow, then a red, after a Glass player went down following the minimum of contact. Even the home players were joking with Surat as he left the field.

Deep into stoppage time, Tunez, who hadn’t put a foot wrong all night, stupidly confronted the referee who readily accepted the invitation to issue a yellow card. For central- defenders, yellow cards are an occupational hazard and Tunez does not need additional ones for his deeply immature attitude at the moment. Everyone wants to see committment but Tunez is taking it too far and Buriram can ill-afford to lose him due to unnecessary suspensions.

A well-deserved win but as observed earlier, still much room for improvement.

Next game is the local derby against Nakhon Ratchasima on Saturday May 29 (H) 6pm.