Buriram out to bury Ha Noi ghosts

Revenge will be on Thai minds in 1st leg

- TOR CHITTINAND

Thai League 1 champions Buriram United will be out to avenge an earlier loss tonight when they take on Vietnamese club Cong An Ha Noi in the first leg of the Asean Club Championship/Shopee Cup final at Hang Day Stadium.

The two sides clashed in their opening game in Group B, when goals from Phan Van Duc and Alan Grafite helped Cong An Ha Noi emerge 2-1 winners, setting the tone for them to finish on top of the group.

The stakes are much higher this time and coach Mano Polking, who is familiar with several Buriram players having led Thailand to the 2020 and 2022 Asean Championship titles, will now hope that his Cong An Ha Noi side can gain a healthy advantage before making the trip to the northeastern Thailand next week.

Cong An overturned a 1-0 deficit against Indonesian side PSM Makassar in the semi-finals with Hugo Gomes and Bui Hoang Viet Anh on the scoresheet as they won the second leg 2-0 at home to progress to the final.