Skip to main content

Thailand too strong for Malaysia in AFF Suzuki Cup

Thailand striker Adisak Kraisorn (in blue) dribbling past four Malaysian players during the AFF Suzuki Cup match at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore on Wednesday. Thailand won 3-2. — S.S. KANESAN / The Star
Thailand striker Adisak Kraisorn (in blue) dribbling past four Malaysian players during the AFF Suzuki Cup match at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore on Wednesday. Thailand won 3-2. — S.S. KANESAN / The Star


SINGAPORE: Mohd Safiq Rahim scored a peach of a solo goal for Malaysia but it still came to nothing against Thailand.

On Wednesday, at the Jalan Besar Stadium, Malaysia twice took the lead but still lost 3-2 to a youthful Thai side in their penultimate AFF Suzuki Cup Group B match.

Malaysia had gone ahead through Mohd Amri Yahyah in the 28th minute but Thailand hit back through substitute Adisak Kraisorn two minutes from the break.

Safiq then jinked past the Thai defenders to score a brilliant second goal at the hour mark but that too was cancelled out by the Thais, with Charyl Chappuis finding the net in the 73rd minute.
Supersub Adisak then turned hero for the Thais when he hit the winning goal in the final minute of regulation time.

The start of the match was delayed by two-and-a-half hours when lightning struck the stadium’s automated lightning system.

When the match finally got under way, national coach Dollah Salleh did the expected, bringing in midfielder Safiq for the suspended Gary Steven Robbat and striker Mohd Safee Sali for winger Azzamuddin Mohd Akil up front.

They did play better than in the goalless draw against Myanmar on Sunday but were still picked apart by the youthful and speedy Thais.

Dollah, who praised his men for putting up a gallant fight, is not ready to throw in the towel yet.
“Our game plan worked well against the Thais but a lack of concentration towards the end cost us the points,” Dollah told the post-match press conference.

“We are not finished yet ... we have one more match to play and we still have a chance to reach the semi-finals.”

His Thai counterpart, Kiatisuk Senamuang admitted that they found it harder to beat Malaysia (than Singapore on Sunday).

“We respect all our opponents but Malaysia gave us a harder time ... I’m happy to get the win,” said Kiatisuk.

“We have qualified for the semi-finals and will try to wrap up our campaign with a win over Myanmar in our last group match (on Saturday).”

The Thais top the table with six points after two matches to book their berth in the semi-final. Malaysia must now beat hosts Singapore in their final match on Sunday to stand a chance to advance to the last four.

Singapore beat Myanmar 4-2 in the other Group B match at the National Stadium in Kallang. The hosts are now second in the standings with three points, followed by Malaysia and Myanmar on one point each.

Shaiful Esah (16th, 76th) and Hariss Harun (35th, 42nd) scored a brace each for Singapore while Myanmar came back strongly after the breather with goals from Kyaw Zayar Win (55th) and Kyaw Ko Ko (62nd).



by K. Rajan - The Star

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Malaysian junior athletes are just too ‘lembik’

Saya setuju. We are working on more coaches! “ @ManOlimpik : Malaysian junior athletes are just too ‘lembik’ http://t.co/7D7wmHWaNy ” — Khairy Jamaluddin (@Khairykj) June 10, 2014 The benchmark. Can our junior athletes train as hard as Malaysia's world No.1 badminton player, Lee Chong Wei? “IT IS okay lah. The training is not too bad lah. I will try lah … Wah, so hard lah today.” These are some of the common statements I hear from our juniors nowadays. It is not only in badminton. It is the easy-going, laid-back attitude and lack of competitiveness at grassroots level that we have problems producing quality players. I have travelled quite a bit. After ending my decade-long career with the national team, I went to play in the league in Europe. It’s different there. The European athletes know what they want. And they do it with real focus. Even the young ones possess admirable self-control and show a high level of commitment. During my time in the ...
12 comments
Read more

Organising Major Sports Events Can Inspire Sports Culture Among The People - Khairy

PUTRAJAYA, June 5 (Bernama) -- Organising major sports events can help inspire sports culture among the people and ensure a healthy lifestyle said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. Khairy said the Tour of Malaysia cycling race organised since 1963, for example, can encourage more people to take the sport in a more competitive way or just for recreation purposes. "A study carried out by a world renown medical journal, The Lancet, revealed that 61 percent of adults in Malaysia do not engage themselves in active sports. "A study by the Health Ministry revealed that only 25 percent of Malaysians exercise," he said in his speech when launching the 2013 Tour of Malaysia (Jelajah Malaysia) at the Youth and Sports Ministry, here, Wednesday. "Cycling, though not as popular here as in countries like Denmark, the activity is becoming popular among the people as can be seen through an increase in sale of bicycles for recreation," he sa...
Post a Comment
Read more

KBS realistik

TERUJA...Shabery (dua dari kanan) melancarkan Logo Tahun Industri Sukan 2011-2012 di Casa 1, MSN, semalam.    KETIKA beberapa sukan utama diletakkan sasaran meraih pingat khususnya emas di Sukan Olimpik 2012 London, penyertaan bola sepak dan hoki sebagai keluarga baru program Road To London pula dilihat sekadar membantu mereka melepasi kelayakan. Mungkin bersikap lebih realistik dengan keupayaan kedua-dua sukan itu di pentas lebih tinggi, Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek mahu segala bantuan diberikan kepada sejumlah 50 pemain bola sepak dan hoki kebangsaan bagi membolehkan mereka tersenarai sebagai kontinjen ke London. “Bagi acara hoki dan bola sepak, kita tidak boleh melihat bantuan perlu diberi selepas mereka layak tetapi kita akan cuba bantu mereka supaya mereka layak. “Tiada kompromi terhadap misi mendapatkan emas pertama tetapi sasaran kita tahun ini ialah mendapatkan seberapa ramai atlet ke Sukan Olimpik,” katanya selepas mempen...
Post a Comment
Read more