Thailand were left shaking their heads in disbelief as they contrived to lose a game 2-1 that they had completely dominated for over an hour. The game should have been over by half-time but Thailand only had Teerasil’s goal to show for their efforts.
A mad five minutes in the second-half saw the home side turn the game on its head to claim an unlikely victory. Thailand do have an away goal but the second-leg on Saturday will now be much harder than it should have been.
The Thai midfield completely outclassed their opponents who struggled to gain any periods of quality possession. However, poor finishing and carelessness at the back cost the War Elephants dear.
Thailand took the lead after 36 minutes when Theerathon floated over a left-wing cross for Teerasil to direct a perfect header into the corner of the net. Thailand continued to dominate after the interval but then gifted Indonesia a way back into the match in the 65th minute.
Theerathon, with time and space, sent a dreadul pass straight to the unmarked Pora. There still seemed little danger as he sent in a tame shot but it took a wicked deflection off a Thai defender to leave Kawin stranded.
Five minutes later Kawin was caught in no-man’s land from a right-wing corner and Pranata sent a looping header into the unguarded net.
Thailand tried to salvage something from the game but Indonesia got men behind the ball to deny them any clear chances. So all to play for in Bangkok on Saturday.