Sharks vow to give Buriram tough time
Leaders Thunder Castle hope for fifth win in a row, Bangkok United in for a fight at Chiang Rai
>> Chonburi’s newfound form faces a stiff test tomorrow when they host Thai League 1 leaders Buriram United, who are eyeing their fifth straight victory in the tournament.
Buriram United currently lead the league table by nine points, while Chonburi have taken over the seventh spot after claiming three wins against a loss and a draw in their past five outings.
Buriram assistant manager Sirichai Kimoto is also worried about the recent improvement showed by the Sharks.
“It will not be an easy game at Chonburi for us,” he said.
“They have been improving but we need to win this game. We must try our best to stop their attacking game and hope to get three points.
“Although we have not been scoring many goals, the most important thing is that we are getting three points.
“We have a nine-point lead on [second-placed] Bangkok United, so we must try to keep our performance stable to keep them at a distance.”
The Thunder Castle will be without their rising stars Supachoke Sarachart and Sasalak Haiprakhon, who both need more than a month on the sidelines to recover from their injuries.
Chonburi, according to their media director Jeerasak Chomthong, will also be without two of their regulars — Suttinun Phukhom and Nattapol Malaphan — who are both injured.
“We need to be at our best consistently because we are not that far away from the relegation zone,” said Jeerasak.
“We will make it tough for Buriram and hope that it will earn us at least one point.”
Bangkok United, who have been without a win in their past four league matches, face another tricky assignment when they travel to take on Chiang Rai United tonight.
Bangkok United assistant coach Watsapol Kaewpaluek admitted that after a spate of under-par shows, his men desperately need some good results to revive their title challenge.
Bangkok United, led by striker Robson Fernandes, are already out of the two domestic cup competitions.
Meanwhile, coach Totchtawan Sripan takes his Police Tero team to third-placed Port tonight, hoping to record a first win after failing to deliver one for his new club in three games so far.