Football
Paul Murphy 9y

Brilliant Hassan Sunny helps blow open Thai Premier League title race

  

Army United's goalkeeper Hassan Sunny gave hope to all Thai Premier League (TPL) challengers by showing how a combination of luck and fighting spirit can keep champions Buriram United at bay.

The Singapore international helped put a halt to the Buriram juggernaut on Saturday, pulling off a series of fine saves to give Army a hard earned point after a goalless draw in Northeast Thailand. This allowed both Muang Thong United and Bangkok Glass to move within a point of the Thunder Castle and blow the TPL title race wide open.

The league leaders came into the game after six successive TPL victories, having found the net 16 times in the previous four games, with Brazilian strikers Diogo and Gilberto Macena in deadly form.

However, the visitors rose to the challenge and Sunny highlighted how others could follow.

He told ESPN FC: "We knew that their strikers played very well together and had a very good understanding -- they are the most lethal strike force in the league. We needed to stay compact and minimise their scoring chances. I'm glad the whole team put up a strong performance. Everyone fought so hard for this result."

Army's Slovakian defender Zdenko Kapralik agreed that the team's focus had been on defence and added that they may have benefited from the six week international break.

He said: "We wanted to play compact, concentrating on defence and trying to score on the counter attack. I think the break was an advantage for us because it gave us the chance to work on our fitness."

Army United rode their luck, with the hosts hitting the woodwork twice, but the defending was heroic at times, with Kapralik and Chaiwat Narkiem both excellent.

Nevertheless, it looked as though all the effort would be in vain when, deep into second half injury time, Macena had a glorious chance to seal victory for the champions. But Sunny pulled off an outstanding save from the Brazilian.

When asked to describe his decisive intervention, the goalkeeper said modestly: "It was a lucky save. I had to stay big and I needed to come off my line to put him under a bit of pressure. Fortunately, I managed to push the ball away at the very last second."

Just after Sunny's super save, Mongkol Tossakrai had a chance to win the game for Army but pulled his shot wide. Buriram have now failed to beat the Gentlemen in their last four TPL meetings and Kapralik believes this demonstrates the quality of the league.

He added: "Against Buriram, all teams in the TPL want to show their quality and we are the same. In our last two games against them, we have been close to getting three points. This shows that any team can win against anyone."

Muang Thong United took advantage of the league leaders' failure to win at home as Cleiton Silva's hat-trick defeated TOT SC 3-0 at the SCG Stadium.

Bangkok Glass moved alongside Muang Thong in joint second spot with a 3-1 home victory over Nakhon Ratchasima. The hosts raced into a 3-0 half-time lead but were made to sweat after Bjorn Lindemann's headed goal sparked a strong fight back from the Swatcats.

Northern Ireland's Kenny Shiels had an eventful start to his reign at BEC Tero Sasana. His new side went a goal down at home to Chainat before floodlight failure saw the match stopped for a period.

Shiels may have wished it had been abandoned when his side went down to 10 men just before half-time after Sittichok Tassanai received a red card for a professional foul. But the new coach rallied his troops and Gilbert Koomson's late strike earned them a point.

Former Army United boss Gary Stevens did not enjoy a successful start to his new role as head coach at Port FC. The former England and Spurs defender watched his team dominate the first half hour at home to Ratchaburi but they failed to turn their superiority into goals.

Last season's TPL player of the year Heberty Fernandes made the Port Lions pay when he came off the bench to score the only goal of the game after 79 minutes, moving the Dragons up to fourth in the league.

Suphanburi and Bangkok United dropped to sixth and seventh spots respectively after a 1-1 draw. Indonesian international Sergio Van Dijk's clever header earned the War Elephant a point after Rangsiyo Ronnachai had opened the scoring.

Chiang Rai United and Chonburi also drew 1-1, with the Beetles needing a 94th minute leveller from Saharat Kanyaroj to earn a point against a side that had been down to 10 men since the 19th minute.

Navy FC earned a surprise 4-2 victory away to Sisaket, while Saraburi -- who released manager Mika Lonnstrom last week -- stay bottom after a 0-0 draw at home to Osotspa.

With just one point now separating the top three teams, this year's TPL race may not be the procession for Buriram United that some were expecting.

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