Buriram United’s Neil Etheridge on Ivan Toney reunion and hopes of Al-Ahli upset

LONDON: When Buriram United play Al-Ahli in the quarter-final of the AFC Champions League Elite on Saturday, Neil Etheridge will face a familiar foe. In a strange twist of footballing fate, Etheridge is — for the fifth time in his career — set to line up against striker Ivan Toney.

But having previously met in matches in England’s League One and Championship, the ACL Elite quarter-final represents the pair’s most significant encounter to date.

Philippines international Etheridge has yet to concede to Toney — successfully shutting out the forward in games against Barnsley, Scunthorpe and Brentford between 2016 and 2021. It is a record he is hoping to maintain.

“You cross paths with many football players in your career but I definitely didn’t expect to see Ivan Toney again,” Etheridge, who moved to Thailand last summer, told Arab News from Buriram’s pre-match camp in Bangkok.

“He’s had a fantastic career and it’s amazing to see where he is now from our first meeting in League One. He’s a great talent and I’m going to really enjoy playing against him one more time. Those stats (four games, no goals conceded) are nice to know, but will be irrelevant when we get on to the pitch.

“More than anything, I’m just happy to see another player step out of his comfort zone and leave English football for something totally different.”

Etheridge did just that himself last year, swapping Birmingham City for Buriram, winners of the Thai League in each of the past three seasons and currently one game away from adding an unprecedented fourth successive title to their tally.

“It’s difficult to think too much about the future in football so I wouldn’t say a move to Asia was always something I planned to do,” Etheridge said. “But I