THAILAND 1:0 QATAR

King's Cup 2002 Tournament

12/02/2002 16:00 TST. SUPRACHALASAI STADIUM,  BANGKOK

THAILAND 1:0 QATAR  HALF TIME: THAILAND 1:0 QATAR

Tor Chittinand

Thailand booked their berth in the final of the 33rd King's Cup yesterday with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Qatar at Supachalasai Stadium.

In the final, Thailand will meet either North Korea or Qatar depending on the results in the next round robin matches.

The North Koreans need just a point against Thailand tomorrow to earn a place in the final after defeating Singapore 4-2 yesterday.

Cheered on by a 15,000 crowd, Thailand got off to a lively start although Qatar looked dangerous on counterattacks.

Thailand were rewarded for their pressure in the 19th minute when Therdsak Chaiman's cross was met by Pitipong Kuldilok and although he did not really get hold of his shot it beat the Qatar goalkeeper to make it 1-0.

Thailand failed to push home the advantage however. Play was somewhat scrappy and a lot of attacks broke down. Both sides missed good opportunities to score. Qatar nearly equalised when Adel Jadoua hit a fierce shot which was well saved by Kittisak Rawangpa.

The teams went in at the interval with Thailand 1-0 up.

Qatar came out in determined fashion in the second half but the game became very disjointed with lots of petty fouls and arguments that kept the referee very busy.

There was not much flow to Thailand's play, but both Anucha Kitpongsri and Pitipong had opportunities to seal the match for Thailand but they shot wide.

Qatar made a last desperate effort to equalise but the Thai defence hung on determinedly to earn a well-deserved victory.

Thailand's head coach Peter Withe said he was pleased with his team's performance, especially the way the younger players performed. He admitted it got a bit physical at times but said that was part of football.

``We knew they would come at us in the second half, but our lads played well,'' he said. ``It was good experience for the young players.''

Alex Jacques, the Qatar coach said he was not happy with his team's performance. ``We had many chances to score but did not take our opportunities,'' he said. ``I still think we can make the final.''

SCORER: Pitipong (19)