Thailand's great escape
Thailand's great escape
The Thailand Under-23 team came into the Bangabandhu Gold Cup as one of the pre-tournament favourites. Seeded second as per the FIFA ranking of senior sides, the Thais finished fourth in the Asian Games last year and are the defending champions of SEA Games' football competition. On the other hand, the Singapore Under-23 team were eliminated from the group stages of Asian Games and were considered as the weakest side in Group B.
So when the two sides met in the opening fixture of Group B at the Sylhet District Stadium yesterday, Thailand were expected to cruise to a comfortable victory. They did look comfortable with a 2-0 lead in the first half, only to make heavy weather of the game by conceding two clumsy goals early in the second half. And it was an opportunistic left-footed strike from Thailand skipper Parmpak Pakorn in the 80th-minute strike which got the favourites out of jail and earned them full points.
Thailand coach Phomrat Choktavee breathed a sigh of relief at the post-match press conference as he felt that his team had made things hard for themselves.
“We were lucky to come out with a win. We played well in the first half as we took the two-goal lead. But I must give credit to the young Singapore team who pressed hard in the second half and put the pressure on our defenders,” exclaimed the Thai coach.
The way the match started with the Thai forwards penetrating the Singapore defence, almost at will, it seemed the match would end up with a cricket score. Striker Sensomaiad Adisak gave the Thais the lead in the fifth minute as he found himself completely unmarked inside the box and headed in a swerving corner kick. The lead was doubled on the half-hour mark when skipper Pakorn darted in from the right wing, danced past a defender and skipped over the challenge of another, before squaring it off for striker Srinawong Chayawat, who stabbed the ball into the back of the net.
But the scenario changed completely within eight minutes of the second half as unheralded Singapore attackers forced two silly mistakes from the Thai defence. Substitute defender Saipanya Tanakon's miscued clearance gifted Singapore forward Iqram Rifqi a 48th minute goal before Taukif bin Suprano brought Singapore parity, thanks to some schoolboy defending from the Thais.
Just as it looked like Singapore would hold their illustrious neighbours to a famous draw, the skipper came to the rescue with a grounded shot from outside the box, evading the outstretched hands of the Singapore goalkeeper.
Singapore coach Richard Bok Kok Chuan was nevertheless satisfied with his team's effort, even though he felt it was a chance great opportunity missed.
“We were a bit sloppy in the first half, but put pressure on the opposition to score two goals in the second. Overall I am happy with my team's performance because Thailand are a very strong side,” explained Singapore coach.