U23 SEA GAMES TEAM
THAILAND 2:1 INDONESIA
FT. 1:1 EXT. 2:1
SEA GAMES FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT 2001 (KL. MALAYSIA)
SEMI FINAL 13/09/2001 19:45 TST.
Teeratep was involved in a neat one-two and finished it off with a fine shot that took a deflection to beat the despairing Indonesian goalkeeper and give Thailand a precious 2-1 victory.
The match had begun disastrously for Thailand when Indonesia scored in the
first minute with header before the Thai defence had a chance to blink.After soaking up more Indonesian pressure, Thailand began to get back into the game and were rewarded in the 39th minute when Anucha Kitprongse equalised with an excellent long range header which caught the Indonesian goalie on the wrong foot.
Spurred on by the goal, Thailand put on the pressure in the closing minutes of the first half but could not convert their chances.
In the second half the match began to get a bit physical with a few wild tackles and in the 58th minute Indonesia were reduced to 10 men after a bad late tackle on Wuttiya Yongant by a defender.
With the numerical advantage Thailand pushed forward for the winner, but the Indonesians defended very well and created some chances of their own.
What turned out to be a crucial decision came in the the 78th minute when Teeratep, who is on the books of English Division 1 team Crystal Palace, came on as substitute.
The 16 year-old immediately put new life into the Thai attack and created several chances that went begging.
However neither side could find the back of the net and the match went into sudden-death extra time.
Both sides appeared to be very nervous and there was lot of nail-biting before Teeratep came up with his brilliant winner which sent the Thai supporters in the stadium wild.
After the match team manger Kasem Jariyawatwong said the extra time period was ``very scary until Teeratep scored a great goal.'' Kasem said he felt the team played very well and vowed to bring the gold back to Thailand.
