Thailand face Indonesia in Cup showdown
Kiatisak’s men thrash Myanmar in last four
Holders Thailand reached the AFF Suzuki Cup final after hammering Myanmar 4-0 in the semi-final second leg at Rajamangala National Stadium for a 6-0 win on aggregate last night.
Sarawut Masuk opened the floodgates after 33 minutes with his third goal of the campaign.
Theerathon Bunmathan, Sirod Chatthong and Chanathip Songkrasin added three more goals in the second half.
Four-time champions Thailand will now meet Indonesia, who stunned Vietnam in the other semi-final, in the final to be played over two legs.
Kiatisak Senamuang’s men will travel to Indonesia in the first leg on Dec 14 and host Alfred Riedl’s men in the second leg on Dec 18.
The War Elephants are chasing a record fifth Asean crown while Indonesia will be trying to win their first, having lost in the finals four times in the biennial tournament between 2000 and 2010.
The Garudas lost 4-2 to Thailand in their opening match in the first round of the 2016 tournament in Manila but have since improved to reach the final of the Southeast Asian championship.
The Indonesians are playing in their first tournament after a 12-month Fifa ban.
“We can’t underestimate Indonesia although we beat them in the first round,” Kiatisak said after last night’s match.
In that match, Thailand raced to a 2-0 lead only for the Indonesians to equalise and Thailand needed two late goals to win.
At Rajamangala National Stadium, Myanmar got off to a lively start and had a couple of chances but failed to send the ball past Thailand goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan.
Thailand soon found their rhythm and dominated for long periods before Sarawut’s header beat Myanmar goalkeeper Kyaw Zin Phyo.
The visitors started the second half strongly and forced Kawin to make a fine save.
Thailand got their second goal when Sarawut was apparently kicked by Phyo Ko Ko Thien in the area and Theerathon made no mistake from the resulting penalty.
Maynmar coach Gerd Zeise was sent to the stands for his fierce complaint about the penalty.
Substitute Sirod scored his first international goal to make it 3-0 in the 76th minute and ‘Messi Jay’ Chanathip completed the rout with seven minutes to go to the delight of his girlfriend, actress ‘May’ Pitchanat Sakhakorn.
On Wednesday, Indonesia’s fairytale run continued in Hanoi when they managed a 2-2 draw with Vietnam after extra-time in their semi-final second leg for a 4-3 win on aggregate.