THAIS HUMILIATE MALAYSIANS WITH EIGHT GOALS

BANGKOK (Jan 28, 2002) – It was sheer humiliation for Malaysia as Thailand drubbed them without any mercy.

They just could not find any solutions to stop the rampaging Thai attack that tore the Malaysian defence to shreds.

The Thais moved in with ease. They were swift down the flanks, and through the middle. In fact they outpaced and outmaneuvered Malaysia.

The Malaysian defence was in total disarray and were slow to recover.

They were lucky that the Thais slowed down the pace after the breather. In fact, they were easily good for another three goals.

They netted as early as the fourth minute when Panai Kongpraphan blasted home.

This opened the floodgates and proved their favourites tag with seven goals in just 36 minutes.

The man of the match was Ekaphan Inthasen with four goals to his credit.

Malaysia suffered yet another blow when Tengku Alias Tengku Ibrahim was sent off by referee Mohd Adly Abdullah in the 54th minute. Malaysia’s only goal came in the 61st minute through Fadzli Saari.

Thailand top the group with 10 points while Malaysia are out of the running.

Malaysian coach Jorvan Vieira said: “I didn’t expect this high score. You can lose the game but not this way. We knew Thailand is very strong but we played badly. Moreover, Thailand did not play in the second half.”

Thai coach Chanvit Polchivin said: “We played well especially in the first half but the strikers held back after the breather. I was not really satisfied with our second half performance.”

“We had practiced how to split the Malaysian defence but I was surprised the way they collapsed.”