Thai Premier League champions Buriram United began their AFC Champions League campaign with a commendable 1-1 draw against China's Shandong Luneng in a Group E match at the Jinan Olympic Sports Centre Stadium yesterday.
The Chinese side started strongly and nearly went ahead in the 10th minute when defender Wang Qiang met a corner in the box but sent the header over the crossbar.
A mistake by visiting captain Suchao Nutnum almost gifted the hosts a breakthrough when former CSKA Moscow striker Wagner Love collected the Thai midfielder's misplaced pass on the left side of the box but dragged his left-foot shot wide of the near post.
Buriram goalkeeper Siwarak Tedsungnoen kept his side in the match by foiling Shandong striker Aloisio after Jakkaphan Kaewprom lost possession in the middle of the pitch.
It took more than half an hour before the visitors managed to carve out a decent chance when former Arsenal youth team player Jay Simpson sent a header from a Theerathon Bunmathan free kick well over the bar.
Three minutes from half-time, Buriram came close to breaking the deadlock when Spanish midfielder Carmelo Gonzalez burst into the right side of the penalty area but his left-foot drive agonisingly sailed just over the bar.
After the break, Aloisio, the Brazilian striker, spurned a golden chance to put his side in front when he wastefully blasted a spot kick over the crossbar once more, much to the frustration of the hosts.
Chances were few and far between after the penalty miss but the game suddenly burst into life in the closing stages with two goals in the final ten minutes.
Substitute forward Liu Bin Bin first outpaced the Thai defence before calmly stroking the ball past advancing Siwarak but Adisak Kraisorn, who also came in as a second-half substitute, managed to snatch a precious draw from the jaws of defeat with an exquisite volley at the death.