Muang Thong hit by 'strange decisions'

Muang Thong United coach Slavisa Jokanovic said his team had fallen victim to “strange situations” during their debut campaign in the AFC Champions League.

After twice failing in play-offs, Muang Thong were this year handed direct entry to the continent’s elite club competition as Thai Premier League (TPL) champions.

Muang Thong, who went unbeaten last season in the TPL to claim their third title in four years, have found life tougher at the top level, with Wednesday’s 4-0 loss away to Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande leaving them rooted to the bottom of Group F.  While acknowledging that Guangzhou, coached by World Cup-winning trainer Marcelo Lippi, deserved to win at the noisy Tianhe Sport Centre, Jokanovic was unable to hide his disappointment after his charges again fell victim to a dubious decision – a controversial penalty in stoppage time.

“Today, we played better than we have in the past. We had many chances to score in the first half. But we made some mistakes in the second half and they scored easy goals,” said the Serb coach at the post-match press conference.  “I think the referee did not respect my club.”

“I have tried to [figure] out the three games we have played in this competition. It’s been a very strange situation for us. In the first game [against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors], after four minutes, it was a very strange penalty. And in the second game [against Urawa Red Diamonds], after 30 minutes, we were left with only 10 men. 

“Today, it was the same. There were some [strange] situations, especially the last goal they scored. Nobody does this [give a penalty for such a challenge],” said Jokanovic, referring to the injury-time penalty awarded by the Omani referee against Teerasil Dangda. TV replays failed to show any offence committed by the Thai forward in the penalty area.

The heavy defeat in Guangzhou, which followed a 4-1 loss to J-League side Urawa, leaves Muang Thong with only a single point at the halfway mark of the group stage. The TPL champions now face a must-win game when they host the Chinese team, who top the standings with seven points, next week if they are to keep alive their qualification hopes.

Buriram United’s prospects in the same tournament barely looked brighter, after the Thai FA Cup winners also returned home empty-handed from a China trip that saw then suffer a 2-0 loss to Jiangsu Sianty in their Group E clash. 

Buriram have now slipped to the bottom of the table with only two points from three matches. If they are to avoid the fate they suffered last season when they exited at the group stage, they must take maximum points when they play Jiangsu at home next Wednesday. 

 

Conca the conqueror

Argentine wizard Dario Conca inspired Guangzhou Evergrande to a 4-0 win over Muangthong United and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Kashiwa Reysol also enjoyed big victories as goals flowed.

Guangzhou, the Chinese double-winners, were matched until the break by the battling Thais before Conca started a second-half rout with a 51st-minute header, and finished it with a coolly taken penalty in injury time.

In between, Brazilian forward Muriqui took a return pass on the edge of the box before planting a sublime second goal for Guangzhou, and midfield maestro Conca had a hand in Gao Lin’s well-worked strike on 84 minutes in front of a packed house in southern China.

In a clash of two of the tournament’s former winners, Japan’s Urawa got on the scoresheet early when Genki Haraguchi, capitalising on Tomoaki Makino’s mazy dribble into the box, belted them in front on six minutes.

Jeonbuk came roaring back into it when Lee Seun-Gi buried a screaming strike, teed up on the edge of the box after a free-kick, on 51 minutes to level the scores at 1-1.

Substitute striker Lee Dong-gook put the visitors ahead when he arrowed a diving header into the Urawa goal on 64 minutes, and Brazilian midfielder Eninho completed the win when he fired a swerving shot over Urawa’s stranded ‘keeper with 20 minutes to go.

However, Jeonbuk’s flurry of goals was eclipsed in Suwon Bluewings’ game against Kashiwa, where the Korean hosts missed three penalties during a crazy encounter which featured seven second-half goals.

Junya Tanaka put visitors Kashiwa ahead on 16 minutes but the game suddenly came alive in the second half when Dzenan Radoncic’s penalty miss was followed by three goals in quick succession for 3-1.

Jong Tae-Se’s fluffed penalty was then followed immediately by Tanaka’s second strike to make it 4-1. Stevica Ristic finally scored a penalty for Suwon to for 4-2, but there was still time for another penalty miss as Ryoichi Kurisawa and Masato Kudo both grabbed their second goals to round off the scoring.

Earlier Australia’s Central Coast Mariners, who had won only one of 14 previous ACL games, had looked set for further heartbreak against China’s Guizhou Renhe after an own goal by goalkeeper Mat Ryan cancelled out Pedj Bojic’s spectacular 50th-minute opener.

But with nine minutes left, New Zealand international Michael McGlinchey whipped in a tantalising cross for the unmarked Trent Sainsbury to head in at the far post and clinch a 2-1 win, lifting the Mariners to second in Group H behind runaway leaders Kashiwa.