Football
Paul Murphy 8y

Adisak shines as Muang Thong and Bangkok United share spoils

Bangkok United head coach Mano Polking believes his side's late equaliser could prove crucial after a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to Premier League of Thailand (PLT) leaders Muang Thong United on Sunday.

In a clash of the top two sides in the country, Ekkachai Samre made it 3-3 with 12 minutes remaining and handed the Bangkok Angels the edge in the head-to-head record, having beaten the Kirins 3-2 earlier in the season.

Polking's side remain three points behind Muang Thong but the draw ensures they will be champions should the sides end the season level on points.

Here are three things we saw on PLT Matchday 21:

1. Bangkok United show their mettle

In the much-anticipated clash between the top two, the hosts drew first blood when Jaycee John fired home from close range after just five minutes. But Chanathip Songkrasin started to impose himself on the game. He picked up the ball inside his own half and ran at the home defence before firing home to equalise in the 21st minute.

Muang Thong began to gain control and missed several more chances before Teerasil Dangda's through ball found Adisak Kraisorn clear on goal. The striker made no mistake with a composed finish minutes before half-time.

But the Bangkok Angels proved again that they are made of strong stuff. At Muang Thong in March, they also went 2-1 down before coming back to win 3-2. On Sunday, Mika Chunuonsee hit the bar with a header before Dragan Boskovic pulled the home side level at 2-2 with a superb curling shot from 20 yards. Muang Thong again went ahead after nice play between Chanathip and Adisak ended with the latter netting from close range.

The hosts refused to accept defeat and equalised when Ekkachai side-footed home from 12 yards. There were a couple of scares for Bangkok United in added time, particularly when Adisak headed into the ground and over the bar when he looked certain to score.

But the home side were delighted to gain what could be a crucial point.

"Overall, it's an important result because of the head-to-head," Polking told ESPN FC. "If we can make up three points on them, we will be in front. "On tonight's performance, I was unhappy with the first half. We showed them too much respect and we weren't aggressive enough. We played well for the first 20 minutes but they gained confidence and the next 25 minutes were very dangerous for us.

"We changed some things at half-time and we fought back again and the draw was probably a fair result and it keeps our title challenge alive."

Bangkok United defender Mika had his hands full as Muang Thong attacked at pace. He said: "It was an end-to-end game that either side could have won. We wanted to win the game and tried to push them back but a draw was fair."

At the other end of the pitch, the hosts' Macedonian playmaker Mario Gjurovski was pleased with the character shown by the team.

"We must be happy with the result after the first half," said Gjurovski. "I was angry at half-time because we can't concede goals like we did if we want to achieve anything. In the second half, I played my role better and really enjoyed the game. We always fight until the end and you could see today that we didn't want to let this team go six points clear of us."

2. Chappuis loses out to former club

Suphanburi midfielder Charyl Chappuis went up against his old side Buriram United as he continued his recovery from a long-term knee injury. But it wasn't to end well for the Swiss-Thai schemer as a controversial red card for War Elephant scorer Dellatorre turned the game in Buriram's favour just before half-time.

The Brazilian had given the hosts an early lead before Kaio netted an equaliser for the champions after half an hour. Dellatorre then received a mysterious second yellow card on 39 minutes and the visitors took full advantage, as Chitpanya Tisud grabbed a second-half winner.

Chappuis will be pleased with another important step on the long road back. But it was a gut-wrenching defeat for the 24-year-old and Suphanburi's returning head coach Sergio Farias against the reigning Thai champions.

3. Bitter sweet debut for Sinama Pongolle

Former Liverpool striker Florent Sinama Pongolle came on as a second-half substitute to make his PLT debut for new club Chainat. He soon made his mark with the Hornbills' second goal of Saturday's game but, unfortunately, his side were already 5-1 down to Chonburi at this point.

The Sharks ran riot with double strikes from Pokklaw Anan, Leandro Assumpcao and Rodrigo Vergilio, whose two goals came in the closing minutes to seal a 7-2 triumph.

Sinama Pongolle will now know the scale of the challenge facing him as he attempts to inspire his new team. The Frenchman has 13 more games to use his experience to try and help save the Hornbills from the drop to Division One. Chonburi, meanwhile, are now six league games unbeaten and have won four of their last five.

4. Aussie Bridge bags a brace

Chiang Rai United's big mid-season signing Mark Bridge grabbed two more goals for his new club with a double strike against BBCU FC. But this wasn't enough to give the home side all three points as bottom side BBCU again showed their fighting spirit in a 2-2 draw.

Bridge gave the Beetles and early lead but the visitors turned it around with goals from Korean Ma Sang-Hoon and English-Thai midfielder Naruphol Putsorn. The Aussie striker brought his team back on level terms before half-time to take his season tally to three but they couldn't find the cutting edge to earn the victory that would take them within two points of the top five.

5. Sisaket push Super Power closer to the drop

Super Power Samut Prakan slipped to yet another discouraging defeat as a 5-1 thrashing at Sisaket handed them their seventh loss on the trot. Things were looking up very briefly when Jefferson gave the visitors an early lead but Adefolarin Durosinmi soon levelled the score before Kyrgyzstan international Anton Zemlianukhin put the hosts 2-1 ahead.

Three more goals, including a second from Zemlianukhin, followed for the home side to keep Super Power in second bottom spot - eight points from safety. It looks increasingly like Super Power will need super powers to keep them in the top tier.

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