Football
Kelvin Leong 9y

It's advantage Thailand after first leg of Suzuki Cup final versus Malaysia

Thailand took a huge step towards their fourth AFF Suzuki Cup title with a 2-0 victory over Malaysia at Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium in the first leg of the 2014 final on Wednesday night.

Dollah Salleh's men started the game well but were undone by a tireless home team who scored both goals in the last 20 minutes. A 72nd minute penalty from Charyl Chappuis and a second from Kroekrit Thaweekarn in the 85th minute sealed a magnificent result for the War Elephants.

Both teams came out like a house on fire with a slew of opportunities in the opening exchanges. But it was Malaysia who settled the quickest. The Thai defence of Tanaboon Kesarat and Suttinan Pukhom looked suspect in dealing with the visitors' direct style of play.

Tournament joint topscorer Safiq Rahim's lovely cross down the right in the third minute produced the first chance. An unmarked Amri Yahyah glanced his header straight at Kawin Thammasatchanan.

Thailand went down the other end with right-back Narubodin Weerawatnodom finding space on the flank. He he cut the ball back for Mongkol Tossakrai who had all the time in the world only to sky his shot high and wide.

Two minutes later, Indra Putra Mahayuddin dinked the ball over the Thai defence to release Norshahrul Idlan Talaha whose cheeky lob almost caught out Kawin. The stopper managed to palm it away at the last moment.

Thailand continued their attacking style in the seventh minute. Chanathip Songkrasin and Charyl Chappuis combined well to release Kroekrit Thaweekarn in the box, only to see the two-goal hero against Philippines smash his shot into the side netting.

Shukor Adan -- who now holds the record for most Malaysian appearances in the Suzuki Cup with 20 games -- and his teammates frustrated the Thais. They struggled to string their renowned passing game together but there were still a couple of half chances for the home side.

The War Elephants began to threaten at the end of the first-half, creating a series of chances. They started with Sarach Yooyen's grounder in the 30th minute before Kroekrit's free-kick three minutes later were both saved by Farizal Marlias.

The biggest chance of the half fell to Adisak Kraisorn in the 41st minute. A schoolboy error by Fadhli Shas allowed Adisak through on goal but the giant forward took too long allowing Farizal to get his fingertips on the ball.

Both teams came out unchanged for the second period and it was a familiar pattern of play. The hosts had plenty of possession while Malaysia tried to break quickly on the counter.

It did not take long before the War Elephants troubled Farizal. The Malaysians were lucky in the 52nd minute when a cross from Chappuis was destined for Suttinan at the far post. He was brought down only for the referee to wave play on.

Chappuis followed it up with a snap shot a minute later before Narubodin repeated his first-half move by cutting back the ball to Mongkol who shaved the crossbar.

Pressure was mounting as Adisak latched onto a Narubodin throw-in only for his shot to sail narrowly wide. The Rajamangala crowd sensed a goal was close and the volume cranked up a notch as Kiatisuk's well-oiled Thai machine was beginning to click into the gear.

The Malaysians finally caught a break in the 61st minute after a sweet one-two between Norshahrul and Safiq saw the latter rifle in a shot that was blocked by a diving Suttinan.

Farizal came to his team's rescue yet again in the 67th minute when Mongkol's lob found a lurking Adisak. He sent a thunderous shot that was kept out by the Johor Darul Takzim stopper.

It was all Thailand at this point. The introduction of Prakit Deeprom in the 69th minute made a huge difference. Just a minute later Adisak turned in the box only to be hacked down by Fadhli Shas who has had a torrid night at the Rajamangala Stadium.

Swiss-born midfielder Chappuis stepped up and tucked in the resulting spot-kick to give the War Elephants a deserved 1-0 lead with 18 minutes to play.

Dollah reacted to the goal with a double substitution in the 74th minute. Safee Sali came on for Amri and Baddrol Bakhtiar took the place of Badhri Radzi. But that failed to nullify the Thai offence which was unrelenting, led by Kroekrit and super sub Prakit.

Substitute Baddrol almost caught Kawin out in the 80th minute with a long-range strike. But the Muangthong United keeper was up to the task on his way to a fourth clean sheet of the tournament.

Just when the visitors thought they were going home with a respectable 1-0 loss, Chanathip sprinted down the left. He left Fadhli and Kunalan trailing in his wake before unselfishly putting it on a plate for Kroekrit. He made no mistake from two yards out to give the Thais a 2-0 lead with five minutes to go.

There was still time for Kiatisuk's men to push for a third. They went close when some scintillating play between Peerapat and Chappuis saw the latter drill his shot narrowly wide.

The second leg of the final will take place on Saturday at the National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur where the 2014 ASEAN champion will be crowned in front of a full house crowd of 90,000.

Thailand: Kawin Thammasatchanan (GK/C), Tanaboon Kesarat, Suttinan Phukhom, Narubodin Weerawatnodom, Peerapat Notchaiya, Sarach Yooyen (92' Adul Lahso), Mongkol Tossakrai (69' Prakit Deeprom), Kroekrit Thaweekarn, Charyl Chappuis, Chanathip Songkrasin, Adisak Kraisorn

Malaysia: Farizal Marlias (GK), Shukor Adan (C), Fadhli Shas, Zubir Azmi, S. Kunalan, Badhri Radzi (74' Baddrol Bakhtiar), Safiq Rahim, Amri Yahyah (74' Safee Sali), Azamuddin Akil , Indra Putra Mahayuddin, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha (87' Manaf Mamat)

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