Muang Thong, Buriram face off
Kirins coach urges his men to deliver win in key clash, Thunder Castle keen to consolidate lead
>> Defending champions SCG Muang Thong United host arch-rivals Buriram United tomorrow night fully aware that a loss could potentially spell an end to their bid to retain the Thai League 1 title.
Muang Thong coach Totchtawan Sripan is spending every available moment to drill the fact into players’ minds that “we need to win this match. Period.”
The match will be played at SCG Stadium at 7pm.
In the first leg, the Kirins lost 2-0 to Buriram United with in-form Brazilian forward Jakson ‘Jaja’ Coeolho starring for the hosts at their I-Mobile Stadium.
Buriram are four points ahead of Muang Thong.
Totchtawan said: “In a way it is good that we don’t have a choice but to win this game and we are lucky that the match will be played on our turf.
“Every player is fit and they are looking forward to this big game, but we do need to run more fitness checks before the match.”
Totchtawan added: “This year, Buriram United have a better team. Their players have all settled well in their roles in every position and have a good understanding of their playing system.
“We, on the other hand, have just started rebuilding our side with a number of new signings. And we aren’t bothered about the result of the match that we conceded to them in the first half of the season. We have moved on.”
“At this point, I don’t want to be dragged into a discussion about our title chances because there are many games left to gain points.
“Every team out there is capable of winning and losing matches and that includes our team as well.
“The game of football depends on the understanding between the players and that is our main problem at the moment because we have made several changes to the team.”
Buriram rested their star striker Diogo Luis Santo for the midweek match, but Totchtawan insisted that the Brazilian’s presence “would not matter much. We are not worried about him at all. As I said, we have no other choice but to win this match.”
Buriram manager Tatthep Pitakpoolsin said: “Our team has done very well in the past several matches.
“We are lucky that we don’t have any injured players, but it will still be a tough game. Muang Thong may be in a bad form but they are still a good team with several good players.
“We are confident that we will get three points from the game at SCG Stadium and it is important for us to widen the gap at the top.”
In another key match tonight, Ratchaburi will host Chonburi at Mitr Phol Stadium.
Ratchaburi coach Pacheta said: “It will be a tough game against Chonburi as they are a good and strong team. Our players are exhausted from playing so many matches in a row but we will be at home for this game, so we are confident of claiming three points.”
Jeerasak Chomthong, Chonburi’s marketing and media director, was worried about Ratchaburi’s reputation of winning big in their home games.
He said: “Ratchaburi always play well at their home ground so we will be content with one point from the match. Moreover, we will be without Noppanon Kachapalayuk, who has been sidelined by an injury.”