Despite producing a spirited display, Thailand succumbed to a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Australia in their opening Group D match of the World Cup qualifiers at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane yesterday.
On the back of scrappy performances in Thailand's 3-2 aggregate win over lowly Palestine, which earned them a place in the last-20 team stage, few expected Winfried Schaefer's men to come away with anything from the Australia fixture.
To put the narrow win over Palestine in context, it is worth noting that the second qualifying round tie came only a few weeks after Schaefer, 61, was officially appointed as Bryan Robson's successor in July.
With the German veteran having had time to settle in to his new job, there was optimism in the Thai camp that they could spring a surprise by at least taking a point off the Australians, who have reached the last two World Cup finals in Germany and South Africa.
Despite being deprived of the services of his No 1 goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan, who has been sidelined with an elbow injury, the former Cameroon trainer was bullish that his men could cause an upset against an Australian side boasting several high-profile players, including Everton midfielder Tim Cahill.
The Thai side suffered a further setback before kickoff when Suchao Nutnum was deemed unfit to start the game, prompting Schaefer to field Sompong Sorlap in an unfamiliar role on the right side of the five-man midfield.
With the presence of 194-centimetre Josh Kennedy up front and Cahill, renowned for his aerial prowess, operating behind the towering striker, Schaefer's opposite number, compatriot Holger Osieck, showed which route the hosts intended to take to the goal.
Schaefer instructed his team not to concede a goal in the opening 20 minutes if they were to stand a chance against the home side, who finished as runners-up in the Asian Cup earlier this year. And the Thais honoured his words, standing firm in the face of an early assault from Australia.
In fact, the visiting team went one better, taking a shock lead from their first meaningful attack with a quarter of an hour gone. Sompong, normally a striker, repaid Schaefer's faith by cutting a pass from inside his own half before continuing his run to receive a return pass into the opposition area.
The Buriram FC forward then sent the ball to the overlapping Jakkaphan Kaewprom, who delivered a tantalising cross across the face of goal for Teerasil Dangda to side-foot past the wrong-footed Mark Schwarzer, sparking wild celebrations among a group of Thai fans at the stadium.
The goal stung the hosts into action; they nearly came back into the contest when Bret Holman broke clear down the left flank, but Sinthaweechai Hathairattanakool, deputising for the injured Kawin in goal, did well to intercept his pass with Australia players ready to pounce.
The Australians came even closer to equalising on the stroke of halftime when a good interlink play between Kennedy and Cahill almost resulted in a goal, with the latter taking the former's knock-down into his stride before firing it straight at the keeper. The halftime whistle brought a chorus of boos from the home fans.
Osieck's halftime talk seemed to have reinvigorated his side as the Australians quickly pushed the visitors onto the back foot after the restart. Just before the hour mark, the hosts restored parity when Matthew McKay was sent clear into the left side of the area before blasting a fierce shot, which Sinthaweechai parried into the path of Kennedy, who made no mistake from the rebound.
Moments later, the hosts had the ball in the net again but it was disallowed after the referee adjudged Cahill to have fouled the goalie when he challenged for the ball in the air.
The hosts continued to press and Sinthaweechai had to produce his best to tip Luke Wilshere's curling free kick from a dangerous position outside the box over the bar.
It looked as though the teams would have to share the spoils, but substitute Alex Brosque had different ideas, breaking the Thai resistance with an opportunistic strike that denied the Thais the point their fighting display deserved.
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