BANGKOK: Buriram United FC kicked off the defence of their Asean Club Championship Shopee Cup title with a 0-0 draw against Borneo FC Samarinda at Buriram Stadium on Wednesday as Mario Silva’s side finished the game with 10 men.
Narubadin Weerawatnodom was sent off in the dying moments for a second bookable offence as the Thai League 1 champions and back-to-back winners of the Shopee CupTM were left frustrated by the visitors.
Tournament debutants Kuching City FC shared a 2-2 draw with Tampines Rovers FC and Ratchaburi FC salvaged a 1-1 draw against Ho Chi Minh City Police FC as the regional club championship returned dramatically.
Buriram United, winners of the first two editions, were left frustrated by Borneo and Narubadin’s late dismissal for hauling down Hugo Samir after already being booked, as the home side clung on to take a point in the season opener.
“We're already the defending champions, and I believe the standard of our team is high enough to win the title again,” said Buriram United’s Thanakrit Chotmuangpak.
“However, after today's match, we need to go back and fix the areas where we still aren't good enough, especially in the final third and our finishing. But everyone worked very hard.”
Gabriel Peres’ stoppage-time header earned hosts Kuching City a dramatic draw with Tampines Rovers in the Malaysia Super League side’s debut.
The Brazilian scored twice for his side in the dying minutes, also netting in the 86th minute to cancel out Nabel Yoshitaka Furusawa’s 13th minute opener before Kohya Kazama looked to have won the Group A meeting for the visitors in the 88th minute.
But a stunning effort from Gabriel Peres levelled the scores again as the tournament newcomers secured a deserved share of the points at Stadium Negeri in Kuching.
“This man of the match is not for me; it’s for my group, my coach,” said Gabriel Peres, who was named the Shopee Star of the Match. “We worked hard tonight. It's a good result. And now we need to focus more on the games ahead in the coming months.”
Hosts Ratchaburi earned their point through an injury-time goal by Scott Allardice, who struck late to frustrate fellow debutants Ho Chi Minh City Police FC.
The Vietnamese club took the lead through a delightful goal by Mạnh Đức Olaha in the 48th minute before Allardice scored the equaliser two minutes into added time.
Ho Chi Minh City Police struck soon after the interval when the enterprising Aldaír Ferreira picked out Olaha, who found the space and time to curl his left-footed shot into the far left corner beyond the outstretched Nopphon Lakhonphon.
Ho Chi Minh City Police’s Leo Gomes was denied a second for his side late in the game by Nopphon, and that proved crucial as Allardice then forced home the equaliser with his 92nd minute header from a corner kick.
Group B of the Shopee Cup kicks off on Thursday when Port FC from Thailand host Persib Bandung of Indonesia, Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim FC play PKR Svay Rieng FC from Cambodia and Singapore’s Lion City Sailors FC meet Vietnamese outfit Cong An Hanoi FC.
The Shopee Star of the Match award winners are: Buriram United FC (THA) v Borneo FC Samarinda (IDN) – Guilherme Bissoli (#7), Buriram United FC;
Ratchaburi FC (THA) v Ho Chi Minh City Police FC (VIE) – Mạnh Đức Olaha (#7); Ho Chi Minh City Police FC, Kuching City FC (MAS) v Tampines Rovers FC (SGP) – Gabriel Peres (#4), Kuching City FC.
