Buriram edge Albirex, lift Premier Cup

Buriram edge Albirex, lift Premier Cup

Ko double helps Thunder Castle tame Japanese giants to claim first title of the year

Thai giants Buriram United recovered from a one-goal deficit to gun down Japanese club Albirex Niigata 2-1 and claim the Toyota Premier Cup at the I-Mobile stadium yesterday.

Buriram players celebrate their victory in the Toyota Premier Cup last night.

While Buriram United had lined up Theerathon Bunmathan, Suchao Nutnum and Jakkraphan Kaewprom for their first match of the year, their star striker Diogo Santo was missing even from the bench.

The Thunder Castle went on the attack soon after the whistle and could have claimed the lead early in the first half if their new signing Andre Moritz had not missed the target.

Albirex Niigata also came close to scoring but Leo Silva’s shot was warded off by alert Buriram goalkeeper Sivarak Tedsungnern.

Buriram United saw new Brazilian striker Kaio Goncalves fire a shot over the bar, leaving both sides to go in at the break without any first-half goals to their credit.

In the second half, Albirex Niigata, one of the top J-League teams, silenced the large home crowd when Leo Silva scored for the visiting team in the 55th minute with a long shot.

After conceding the goal, Buriram became more adventurous and equalised when a curling corner-kick by Theerathon was headed into the net by South Korean midfielder Ko Seul-Ki.

Kaio had further chances without being able to capitalise, and captain Suchao had a long shot ricochet back off the woodwork.

Albirex Niigata set up Rafael Silva only to see him fire the ball over the bar.

Buriram United’s efforts to net the clincher finally paid off in the 79th minute when the duo of Theerathon and Ko reproduced their magic. Once again it was a calculated lob by the Thailand defender from the corner flag which led to a perfectly-placed header by the Korean player.

The Japanese club went all-out on the attack in search of the leveller but the Buriram defence did not allow them much of an opportunity.

During the last five minutes of the match, Albirex Niigata mounted the pressure on the Thai side but Buriram, winners of five titles last year, stood their ground for the deserving 2-1 victory.

Buriram United coach Alexandre Gama hailed his team’s comeback win.

“I have to say the Japanese were the better side in the first half. But we improved our game in the second half and luckily we got the equaliser pretty quickly.

“Two goals from set-pieces were a result of our hard work during training.”

The coach also singled out defender Theerathon as the team’s best player.

“For me Theerathon was the most impressive player today but Ko Seul-Ki was also very instrumental with his two-goal contribution,” added Gama.

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