It was a harsh result for Singapore who had matched their Thai opponents in most of areas of the pitch but Charyl Chappuis cooly-taken 88th minute penalty proved the difference.
BY Nick Measures Follow on Twitter
With two minutes of normal time left on the clock it had looked like Singapore were heading for a well-deserved point when Thailand worked the ball down the left wing to Swiss-Thai midfielder Chappuis. His driven cross struck the arm of defender Safuwan Baharudin and the referee had no hesitation to pointing the spot.The 22 year old, who is having quite the year, then showed an old head on his young shoulders shrugging off the boos from within the half-full National Stadium to slot the penalty kick into the bottom left hand corner, giving Sunny no chance and breaking Singaporean hearts.Up to then there had been little to separate both teams and in fact, on balance Singapore probably had the better chances. They also had a couple of their own penalty shouts in both halves, but both were waved away by Iranian referee Faghani Alireza, much to the displeasure of the local fans.Despite coming back once before after a 19th minute Khairul Amri header had cancelled out the 9th minute opener by Mongkol Thosakrai but this time there was just no time to find a way back despite a late flurry of chances. After all the pre-match hype, there was a real sense of anticipation about the match yet it initially looked as if the nerves had got to Thailand. Singapore made the brighter start but it was Thailand's small but vociferous and colourful travelling support who had something to cheer about after the home team temporarily lost their focus.A throw to Thailand 30 yards out from the Lions goal seemed to offer little threat but no one tracked the run of Prakit Deeprom into the Singaporean penalty area. He collected the long throw and had both time and space to look up before smashing a fierce cross across the box that was bundled home by right winger Mongkol Thosakrai. Credit to Singapore they reacted well to going a goal down and began to dominate the midfield areas. Faris Ramli was a particular thorn in the Thai side, looking very dangerous switching between flanks and causing Thai full backs problems with his pace and willingness to run at them. The Lions had muted claims for a penalty waved away when Amri went down under a clumsy tackle in the penalty area but they weren't to be denied the equalizer their endeavour deserved and it was Amri who found the net.Left back Shaiful Esah whipped a delicious cross into the box that eluded both of the Thai center halves and Amri found the space to plant a firm header passed the keeper. Thailand did threaten in patches but never really seemed to get going. They looked particularly nervous at the back where they were guilty of giving the ball away cheaply and Amri constantly unsettled Adison Promrak with his pace, as Singapore looked to release him with balls over the top.He and Ramli looked a constant threat and both had further chances to give Singapore the lead. Ramli sprung the offside trap on 33 minutes and Kawin needed a couple of efforts to collect his fierce shot. A couple of minutes later a delightful ball over the top by Hariss Harun put in Amri. An excellent first touch allowed him to bring the ball down but Promrak did well to recover and clear for corner. There was still time for the two to combine again in the dying minutes of first half extra time when Amri rolled the ball into the path of Ramli but he panicked and put his chance way over the cross bar. The second half saw Singapore shut up shop a little as they seemed happy to sit deep to conserve energy and try and reduce the threat from the pace of this Thai team. Thailand did throw on wonderkid, Chanathip Songkrasin and that did seem to give his side more of a cutting edge, especially as Singapore began to tire. Thailand's 'Messi Jay', looked threatening straight away with some darting runs and close control. After one mazy run had resulted in a corner he then latched onto a through ball to burst into the box but his first time effort from a tight angle sailed harmlessly over. As Thailand went for a killer goal it did allow Singapore to threaten sporadically on the break. Ramli having another penalty appeal denied on 70 minutes, when he burst into the box and seemed to be blocked off by Boonyong, but again the referee was unmoved by the theatrical way the player went down. As Singapore found a second wind Sahil Suhaimi found space on the edge of the Thai box but again the Thai keeper was able to gather his drive. Ramli then had Singapore's best effort of the second half a minute later, when he was played in by a gorgeous through ball by Shahril Ishak but from a tight angle he could only hit the side netting. That chance seemed to wake the crowd up, but it also seemed to perversely wake Thailand up again and they redoubled their search for a goal, Yooyen going closest with a long range drive that Sunny did well to turn behind for a corner. Just as it looked like Singapore had survived that late rally came the penalty call as Chappuis deflected cross hit the unfortunate arm of Baharudin with just four minutes left on the clock. The defender nearly atoned with a back post header deep into injury time but there was no redemption as it crept agonizingly wide of the near post.That and Singapore's previously wastefulness in front of goal meant a misfiring Thailand take all three points. After the goalless draw between Malaysia and Myanmar earlier in day it certainly puts the War Elephants firmly in control of Group A after the first round of fixtures and with Singapore knowing that they'll need to get a lot more ruthless in front of goal if they are going to retain the trophy
No comments:
Post a Comment