Weekend Round-Up 28-31 July

World Cup Qualifier Round 2 (Second leg)
Palestine 2-2 Thailand (2-3) 

A 2-2 tie in Palestine was enough to see Thailand progress into the World Cup qualifying draw. Datsakorn scored a brace as Thailand twice came from behind on the night to claim a 3-2 win on aggregate.
The draw for the World Cup qualifiers was made at the weekend, and the Thais were matched with Australia, Saudi Arabia and Oman. The draw was received with a mixed reaction. Thailand were delighted to avoid Japan and South Korea, but at the same time, they will know they'll have tough games against Australia and Saudi Arabia. As for Oman, they have a decent record against them, and will be aiming to collect at least 4 points in the games against them.

Thailand's fixtures:
2 Sep: Australia (A)
6 Sep: Oman (H)
11 Oct: Saudi Arabia (H)
11 Nov: Saudi Arabia (A)
15 Nov: Australia (H)
29 Feb: Oman (A)

TPL
Sriracha 1-0 Army
Sisaket 2-0 Samut Songkram
Khon Kaen 4-2 TOT
Thai Port 0-2 Army
Chiang Rai v Navy (Mon)

It was a bad couple of days for the 3 Bangkok teams involved in the TPL as they lost games that they would have expected to have won.
As reported earlier on this blog, Army Utd lost at Sriracha on Saturday.
On Sunday, TOT dropped into the bottom 3 due to losing an end-to-end match up at Khon Kaen. The home side were playing their first game in their new stadium and they gave the home fans a welcoming 4-2 victory present.
The failure of Thai Port to sign a striker in the transfer window is coming back to haunt them. They had plenty of possession but were toothless upfront. Pattaya scored 2 quick goals just before the break and that was enough for them to claim 3 points. Pattaya's keeper saved a 2nd half penalty from Worawut.

Division 1
Chainat 2-0 JW Rangsit
Air Force 0-1 RBAC
Buriram FC 2-0 Bkk Utd
Raj Pracha 0-0 Phuket
Chantaburi 2-2 Songkla
SP Customs 2-1 Chiang Mai
Suphanburi 0-0 BBCU
Saraburi 1-1 PTT Rayong
Bangkok FC 1-2 Thai Honda


Buriram FC continued their quest for the first division title with 2 late goals to beat a stubborn Bangkok United 2-0. BBCU lost ground at the top on account of being held to a goalless draw in Suphanburi.
There were a couple of unexpected results at the bottom of the table as RBAC won 1-0 at Air Force and Thai Honda scored a late goal to earn a 2-1 victory at Bangkok FC. Chiang Mai are now bottom of the league and that certainly wasn't in the script when the league season began. 

Division 2 (Bangkok)
North Bkk 1-3 Jamjuree
NSRU 3-2 Maptaphut Rayong
Nontaburi 2-1 Kasem Bundit
Bkk Christian 0-1 SP Utd
Thai Fleet 2-1 Raj Vithi
Thanyaburi Asia Utd 2-3 Kasetsart
Thai Airways Luk Issan 2-1 Globex
Prachinburi 0-0 Assumption Thonburi

Kasetsart put a bit of daylight between themselves and the chasing pack with a 3-2 victory at Thanyaburi Asia Utd. Their closest challengers, Raj Vithi and North Bangkok both lost. Samutprakarn Utd who a few weeks ago were quietly sneaking up on the promotion race are now at the front door demanding to be let in. They won their third consecutive game with a 1-0 victory at Bangkok Christian.
Finally, Thai Airways Luk Issan ended their disastrous run with a 2-1 success over Globex.


Toyota League Cup Fixtures - 2nd Leg
Kasetsart v Muangthong (1-2) Tues
Buriram PEA v Chiang Mai (0-0) Wed
Sisaket v Chonburi (0-1) Wed
Thai Port v Police (0-0) Wed
BEC Tero v Suphanburi (1st Leg) Wed