Struggling former champions Chiang Rai United moved four points away from the three-team Thai League 1 relegation zone with an important 1-0 victory over Uthai Thani at home on Saturday night.
Korean midfielder Lee Seung-Won delivered the winner in the 63rd minute as the Beetles pocketed three valuable points from the game.
After the match, Lee said: "We had a good second half. We found it really difficult to make inroads through the Uthai Thani defence before the break.
"In fact, they were quite dangerous in the offence, too. They really made things difficult for us.
"We had a team talk during the break and discussed our strategy. A few tweaks to our tactics and we were able to get the winner in the second half.
"I also want to say a big thank you to our fans who came to cheer the team at the venue today. I hope they will come and cheer the team again in our next game as well."
Chiang Rai will next engage in a northern derby with Lumphun Warriors on Sunday.
In the other matches on Saturday night, hosts Nongbua Pitchaya could only share a point with Nakhon Ratchasima after a 1-1 stalemate and Sukhothai were held to a goalless draw by visiting Nakhon Pathom United.
