| |
SINGAPORE : Singapore beat Thailand 2-1 on Wednesday but the first leg of the Asean Football Championship final was overshadowed by shambolic scenes when the Thai team walked off the pitch for 15 minutes.
In a fiery contest, a dubious penalty decision eight minutes from time sparked the walkout that showcased the worst of Southeast Asian football.
Noh Alam Shah was adjudged by Malaysian referee C. Ravichandran to have been pulled down by Thai centre-back Niweat Siriwong but the Thais were not ready to accept the decision.
After manhandling the referee the team stormed off the pitch and refused to return until Asean football officials persuaded them to get on with the match after holding it up for 15 minutes.
Mustafic Fahrudin calmly converted the spot kick to hand the defending champions their first victory over Thailand on home soil for almost 30 years and a psychological boost ahead of the return leg in Bangkok on Sunday.
It capped a frantic and scrappy match, with just one shot on target in the first half.
It came from Singapore who shocked Thailand by prising open their defence against the run of play to take the lead in the 17th minute.
Indra Shadan Daud picked up the ball on the edge of the box and had two stabs at goal, which were both blocked by the Thai defence.
The ball bounced to Fahrudin whose shot landed at the feet of Shah who swivelled and let rip from 10 yards with a left foot rocket that Thai goalkeeper Kittisak Rawangpa flayed at but missed.
It was Shah's 10th goal of the tournament, built on the back of his seven goal haul against Laos in the group stages, and he was ecstatic, gesturing to the 55,000-strong crowd to get behind the team.
Fired up, Singapore played a physical game and at times it was brutal.
Four yellow cards were brandished in the first period, and seven in the match, with both sides fortunate that the referee didn't get out the red as dangerous tackles came thick and fast.
Thailand came out in the second half a different team, immediately pressing on the attack, and scored with their first sniff of goal four minutes after the break.
Striker Pipat Thonkanya picked up a ball slotted through the Singapore defence after a midfield blunder and calmly rounded goalkeeper Lionel Lewis to roll the ball home for the equaliser.
Pipat had another chance four minutes later after some sloppy Singapore defending but lashed his shot high and wide from just inside the penalty area.
Thailand could sense victory as the home side lost their composure and they were unlucky not to score before the penalty decision that brought the game to a standstill. - AFP/de
|
