Weekend Review 23-24 June

TPL
Buriram Utd 3-4 Chonburi
Army 2-2 TTM

The first ever game refereed by foreign match officials in the TPL ended with Buriram United ultimately losing a TPL game at the I-Mobile for the first time. The Japanese trio must have witnessed one of the greatest games in TPL history as Pipob Onmo was the hero of the day scoring a hat-trick in the thrilling 4-3 contest. The win for Chonburi moved them into second place seven points behind Muangthong with a game in hand, but in all reality the title is now Muangthong's to lose. Buriram are one point behind the Sharks on 26.

The other game saw Army United throw away a 2-0 lead as TTM came back to salvage a late 2-2 draw at the Army Stadium.

Division 1
FC Phuket 8-1 Chantaburi
JW Rangsit 2-1 Saraburi

My Collins Thesaurus has exhausted itself looking for synonyms of "hapless" to describe Chantaburi. The only bright spot for the Hares in Phuket was that they took the lead on two minutes before eventually shipping eight goals in the opposite direction. It's a certainty they are going down, but the biggest concern now is whether or not they'll see out the 2012 season. At this rate, I'd severely doubt it!! For Phuket, their goal barrage moved them out of the relegation zone on goal difference into 12th place one place above Saraburi who lost 2-1 at JW Rangsit.

Division 2
Rangsit FC 0-0 Globex
Bangkok Christian 0-0 Kasem Bundit
Krung Thonburi 1-1 Luk Esan
Rayong Utd 1-1 Thai Honda
Samut Prakan Utd 1-1 Central Lions
Samut Sakhon 0-2 Nonthaburi
Kasetsart 0-1 R-BEC
North Bangkok 3-1 Customs Utd
Chamchuri Utd 1-2 Assumption Thonburi
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The coupon buster of the season saw table toppers Samut Sakhon lose 2-0 at home to Nonthaburi. Even the more fervent of Eka fans would never have seen this result coming although from what I heard it was a deserved win for Nonthaburi. The away wins for R-BEC at Kasetsart and Assumption at Chamchuri were also against the Sunday form book although some normality was restored as North Bangkok beat Customs 3-1.
Friday and Saturday however, witnessed five drawn matches. The contest between Rayong United and Thai Honda was a fiery one that finished 1-1. Coulibaly gave the Klaeng side the lead after they were awarded a hotly disputed penalty. Watcharapong levelled on 82 minutes before each side had a player dismissed. Sakarin reacted like a petulant brat when he was given his marching orders while the scary looking Singfa of Thai Honda accepted his second yellow with dignity. I'm sure the big man is used to early showers by now! The draw keeps Thai Honda above Rayong United according to some sources while others have Rayong above Honda in the table. There are currently conflicting league tables on the senior Thai football websites so it's rather confusing.

AFC U-22 Asian Championship Qualifying
Thailand 2-4 DPR Korea 
Thailand v Cambodia (25 June)
Thailand v Laos (28 June)
Thailand v China (30 June)
Thailand v Hong Kong (3 July)

For daily updates on this tournament, you can check Thai League Football and/or listen to Matt Riley's Twenty Four Hours in Thai Football.