Thursday, August 22, 2013

Brief Round-up of Wednesday 21 August

TPL


Army 0-3 Bangkok Glass
BEC Tero 2-4 Chainat
Chiang Rai Utd 1-3 Muangthong Utd
Chonburi 0-0 Suphanburi
Osotspa Saraburi P-P Sisaket
Pattaya 1-2 Bangkok Utd
Ratchaburi 1-0 TOT
Samut Songkhram 2-0 Songkhla Utd

Goals from Piyaphon, Teerasil and Jakkraphan helped Muangthong beat Chiang Rai Utd 3-1 to move them back on top of the pile. In the official TPL table, MTU are two points clear of Buriram having played a game extra. In due course adjustments will be made once a verdict has been finally delivered on the Sisaket saga.

No matter what happens with Sisaket's possible reinstatement/demotion, Chiang Rai Utd and Pattaya will be in Division 1 next year if they finish in their current positions. As mentioned previously, CRU lost at home to Muangthong while Pattaya were beaten by Bangkok United in their own backyard. Chiang Rai Utd are now four points adrift of fourth bottom Samut Songkhram after the Makerels beat Songkhla Utd 2-0. It's even bleaker for Pattaya who have a six point deficit on Samut.

In the battle for third place, Chonburi had an abundance of chances to dispose of Suphanburi but they couldn't find the breakthrough as it finished 0-0. The Sharks hold a four point advantage with ten matchdays remaining.

Elsewhere, an under strength Bangkok Glass stunned Army United as they won 3-0 at the Royal Thai Army Stadium. A second half hat-trick from Mbegono Yannick helped Chaniat come from behind to win 4-2 at BEC Tero. That defeat for the Fire Dragons ended their brief mini revival. TOT lost their sixth successive TPL match going down to Jhon Obregan's goal in their 1-0 loss at Ratchaburi.


AFC Champions League - Quarter Final 1st Leg 

Esteghlal 1-0 Buriram Utd
Buriram lost 1-0 in Iran after Esteghal won courtesy of a fortunate goal in the opening minutes. Khosro Hedari's cross sailed over Sivaruk in off the back post. The Thunder Castle more than matched their illustrious opponents and they'll be confident of overturning the deficit next month in the second leg.

Division 1


Bangkok FC 3-2 Saraburi
Krabi 1-1 Sriracha
Nakhon Pathom Utd 2-0 Ayutthaya
Nakhon Ratchasima 1-0 Rayong Utd
Phuket 1-1 Air Force
PTT Rayong 1-0 BBCU
Rayong FC 1-2 Siam Navy
Singh Tarua 1-0 Khon Kaen
TTM 3-0 Trat

Air Force were the only side in the top 5 not to win as they came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw in Phuket. The Airmen had the most difficult fixture out of all the promotion contenders, yet they'll be relatively happy with a point in Phuket. PTT Rayong, Singh Tarua, Bangkok FC and Nakhon Ratchasima all submitted home wins.

Losses for Rayong FC and Rayong United mean they can both start preparing for life again in the regional leagues. To have any chance of survival, they'd both need to win seven of their remaining ten matches, and that's not going to happen!!

Ayutthaya could be making a quick return to the regional leagues along with the Rayongs if results don't start improving soon. Siam Navy, Sriracha and TTM have all hit form at the right time while the Ancient Warriors continue to stutter along. Their 2-0 loss at Nakhon Pathom leaves them three points from safety. Khon Kaen are the other side occupying a relegation berth. They lost 2-0 at a Leandro Luz inspired Singh Tarua.

2 comments:

  1. I was great to see that we were competitive in the AFC Champions League.
    Buriram played well and this is surely a chance for them to advance to the next round with a good home showing.
    Maybe Thailand can return to pass glory when Thai Farmers Bank (Kasikorn Bank) won the Asian Club Championships two year in a row.


    Yet another slip-up by Air Force, they are hanging on the good results from the first Leg.
    They need to improve their results to be in contention for promotion.
    Haven't given up on the title challenge but, just want them to return into the Premier League at the least.
    All I hope is that it does not come down to November 2 match which the AirMen will have to travel to PAT Stadium for the promotion spot!

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  2. I think a point is a decent return from Phuket. None of the other promotion contenders have won there so far. The other four all had home games that you'd expect them to have won.

    I didn't get the chance to watch the Buriram match as it was on too late for me. From what I heard Buriram played extremely well. However with no away goal, I'd still put the Iranian side as favorites to go through. If they score one, Buriram would need to score three. That would be a tall order.

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