SCG Muang Thong United's season lurched to a new nadir last night when they suffered one of their worst Thai League 1 defeats ever -- and that too at the hands of a newly promoted side, PT Prachuap.
The four-time champions, who finished the 2017 season in second place behind current league leaders and arch foes Buriram United, were vanquished 6-1 by Prachuap, who are enjoying a dream run since winning promotion to the top flight for the first time in the club's history.
The humiliating defeat at Sam Ao Stadium sent the Kirins barrelling down to joint ninth place in the 18-team league, languishing six points behind Buriram, with their title campaign in a shambles now.
It also ended former Thailand midfielder Totchtawan Sripan's reign as Muang Thong coach as he quit immediately in the wake of the disastrous trip to Prachuap.
In contrast, Prachuap surged to joint fifth spot in the table with nine points after five rounds of matches.
The result took everyone by surprise because of the stark reversal of fortunes on a scale never seen before in matches involving the giants and minnows in domestic competitions.
Muang Thong, featuring expensive imports and a host of national team stars, took the field as heavy favourites to win the match and close the gap on the leaders.
However, they were hit by an avalanche of unexpected first-half goals as they found themselves trailing Prachuap 4-0 before the break.
The floodgates were opened by Amorn Thammanam just before the 15-minute mark and his strike was followed by a goal by Jitpanya Thisud in the 22nd.
Muang Thong looked both listless and devoid of confidence and their lack of teeth fuelled Prachuap's upswing further. The hosts struck twice again with Jonathan Reis netting in the 33rd and Amorn picking up his second goal of the match five minutes later.
The Kirins regrouped after the break for a short span but it was enough to help them break the duck with a 55th-minute goal by Jakson Coelho.
The former champions were quick to return to their erratic ways and Lonsana Doumbouya was happy to make the most of the openings gifted to him by Muang Thong defenders to add two more goals to the score sheet, making it a night to forget for the Kirins.
Meanwhile, Sukhothai missed their chance of overtaking Buriram after going down 2-1 at Nakhon Ratchasima last night.
At Singha Stadium, hosts Chiang Rai United claimed three points, defeating Ratchaburi Mitr Phol 2-0 with a brace from Nebihi Bajram.
Hosts Port edged Ubon UMT United 1-0 at their PAT Stadium last night and Pattaya United were 2-0 winners over Air Force Central in Saturday's late game.