Dateline 1^st July 2017 – Match day 21.

 FT NRFC 0 Buriram United 2

The Swatcats welcomed the Championship favourites Buriram United this weekend.

In front of 10 082 fans and on a sodden pitch Buriram opened brightly. They fired an early warning shot when Coelho outwitted Igbonefo but his shot went narrowly wide. Minutes later an amazing 35 yard dipping drive from Rafael Bastos beat the keeper to give Buriram the lead - I did think that if the keeper had been on his line he could have made a straightforward save.

In the 14^th minute Adiyiah went close with a flick but then the heavens opened and lightening lit up the skies overhead and as the advertising hoardings began to fly, the referee took the players off the pitch.

The players returned after 45 minutes to be confronted by a quagmire with both sides content to “give it some wellie” with the idea of trying to pass the ball rendered impossible. The visitors continued to look dangerous going forward but any attempts at the other end were thwarted by some good defending.

Coelho went close again on 37 minutes but as a contest the game became a farce but in the 55^th minute there was a clear handball inside the box after a Rangel flick but no penalty was awarded - a lucky break for Buriram.

In the 64^th minute Buriram went 2 up when Jakkaphan slid the ball under an advancing keeper and with both sides struggling with the conditions, there was no real response from the home side.

The match was effectively over as a contest of football after the rain storm but Buriram mastered the conditions more effectively and really gave little chance for the Swatcats to get back into the game. A disappointing night for the hosts. They created maybe 1 or 2 half chances all game and Buriram looked like they would score every time they broke forward. The Swatcats now have a real challenge on their hands to avoid the drop - our only hope is that there are 3 more inferior teams below us !!

Match Day 21 stats