Thai Premier League Wrap: Buriram advantage slashed

Buriram United saw their lead at the top of the Thai Premier League cut to just two points after a disappointing 0-0 draw with TOT.

Scott Cooper’s side remain unbeaten after 16 outings in the 2013 edition of the competition, but allowed Muang Thong United to gain ground as they failed to beat 10th-placed TOT away from home on Saturday.

And Muang Thong made the most of that result 24 hours later as they cruised to a 2-1 victory against Chainat at the Khao Plong Stadium.

Piyaphon Buntao and Mario Gjurovski grabbed United’s first-half goals, with Michael Byrne netting a late consolation for the eighth-placed hosts.

There was also movement just below the league’s top two teams as Suphanburi leapt into fourth place courtesy of a 2-1 win over Songkhla United in which Pairote Sokam and Bireme Diouf grabbed the crucial goals.

Chonburi then failed to spark against mid-table Osotspa, being held to a disappointing goalless draw at home and relinquishing fourth spot in the process.

There were also several interesting developments at the bottom of the Thai Premier League, with the battle against relegation heating up significantly.

Fresh off the back of a surprise win over Chonburi, Samut Songkhram earned just their third away point of the season by holding Ratchaburi to a 0-0 draw on Sunday.

The two teams are now separated by only a point in 15th and 14th respectively.

That result meant that Chiangrai United, who occupy the final relegation spot, slipped two points short of safety after suffering a 2-1 away loss to Bangkok United on Saturday.

Heiko Scholz’s men looked on track to earn a crucial draw after Leo Da Silva cancelled out Chatchai Kumpraya’s opener, but were left sorely disappointed when Romain Gasmi struck in the 80th minute to hand the hosts the points.

Also on Sunday, 17thh-placed Pattaya United also saw their hopes of escaping the bottom three shrink as they slipped to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Police United at home.

Elsewhere, sixth-placed Army United moved just three points short of BEC Tero Sasana in fifth by beating Rene Desaeyere’s side 2-1 thanks to Mongkol Tossagri’s 92nd-minute winner.