An unexpected 2-2 draw away at Si Sa Ket on Sunday night virtually derailed SCG Muang Thong United's bid to retain the Thai League 1 title but their coach Totchtawan Sripan is refusing to give in just yet.
Muang Thong's Heberty Fernandes scores from a free-kick.
Muang Thong United have now fallen six points behind arch rivals Buriram United, who turned hot in the second half to thrash bottom-placed Super Power Samut Prakan 7-0 on Sunday night and carry their total to 59 points.
The Kirins also face a challenge from resurgent Bangkok United for second place now. Bangkok United, who hammered Chonburi 7-2 on Saturday night, have 53 points -- the same as Muang Thong United -- after 25 matches.
In the other late match on Sunday night, Sukhothai laboured to a 1-0 victory over Thai Honda to improve their chances of survival in the top flight.
Si Sa Ket shocked Muang Thong fans into silence in the 18th minute when Suriyakarn Chimjeen gave them the lead which didn't last long. Heberty Fernandes was quick to equalise for the Kirins, curling a free kick into the net.
Heberty was both a hero and a villain in the second half as he first converted a penalty in the 77th minute but then headed a late clearance into his own goal to gift the hosts a point.
Totchtawan said: "It was difficult to control the ball because the pitch was very wet and we played under the rain for almost the whole match.
"We mainly used long balls and made a lot of mistakes. Given the conditions, a draw was always on the cards.
"However, we are not giving up the title chase and we will try to gain points from our remaining matches.
"We will have to focus ourselves more. Most importantly we would have to limit our mistakes as these have been costing us valuable points.
"We cannot afford to let the gap between us and Buriram grow any bigger."
There are nine more rounds of matches left in this year's league.
The top two divisions of the domestic league take a one-month break after this weekend's games to allow the country's senior and U22 squads to prepare for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers and the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur. The Thai League 1 rivalries will resume on Sept 10.