THAILAND 2:2 LEBANON

WORLD CUP 2002 QUALIFYING GROUP 5 2nd LEG SUPCHALASAI STADIUM, THAILAND

Report by: Tor Chittinand, bangkok Post

HALF TIME : THAILAND 0:1 LEBANON

Thailand - Sakesan Pituratana 73, Tawan Sripan 77
Lebanon - Wartan Ghazarian 35, Moussa Hjeij 87

Thailand scrape through

On a night of intense drama, Thailand held on for a 2-2 draw against Lebanon to clinch the final berth in the Asian World Cup second phase qualifiers at Suphachalasai Stadium last night.

Roared on by a capacity 40,000 crowd, which included Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai team played their hearts out in what turned out to be a highly entertaining match of nailbiting tension.

It is the furthest a Thai team has reached in World Cup qualifying and the players were understandably overjoyed at reaching the next stage.

But it could have been all so different. For half the game Thailand were 1-0 behind and Lebanon missed some great chances to clinch the match which would have earned them a precious berth in the next stage of qualifying.

Although they only needed a draw, Thailand began in lively fashion and it was clear the team were following coach Peter Withe's orders to go for a win and not settle for a draw.

Thailand dominated the early stages and good efforts by Anurak Srikerd and Thawatchai Dumrong-ongtrakul were well saved by Lebanon goalie, Ali Fakih.

Lebanon began to get more into the game and looked dangerous on breakaways.

In the 25th minute Lebanon silenced the crowd when Wartan Ghazarian nodded home a cross from the right which left the Thai goalie Kittisak Rawangpa well beaten.

Stunned by this setback, Thailand pressed hard for the equaliser but in doing so left themselves exposed at the back and it was Lebanon who nearly added to their score, but Ghazarian's shot was cleared off the line by Choketawee Promrat.

Just before half-time Kiatisak "Zico" Senamuang had a good chance but his shot went just wide and the teams went in at the interval with Lebanon holding a precious 1-0 lead.

The second half once again saw Thailand pressing forward but it was Lebanon who came closest to scoring when Ghazarian was put through in the 53rd minute but was thwarted by Kittisak and desperate tackles from the Thai defence.

Thailand continued to put on the pressure but time began ticking away and with less that 20 minutes to go they still hadn't found the precious goal they needed.

Then in the 73rd minute the stadium erupted when Anurak Srikerd crossed from the right and Sakesan Pituratana rose magnificently to head the ball home to make it 1-1.

Thailand moved into full throttle now and four minutes later the stadium was roaring again when Tawan Sripan collected a pass from Kiatisak and fired home a great goal from the edge of the area.

Suphachalasai stadium was buzzing now as it looked like Thailand were home and dry. But there was a twist in the tail. With two minutes of regular time to go Moussa Hjeij scored an opportunist goal to set up a nailbiting finale.

However the Thai defence held out well and when Japanese referee, Kamikawa Toru blew the final whistle the Thai players hugged one another with joy at reaching the second phase of the qualifiers, while some of the Lebanese players were in tears.

Coach Withe said he was delighted with his team's performance in an exciting match. "I told them we must go for a win. Sitting back and hoping for a draw was too risky," he said. He thanked the crowd for their support. "They were magnificent," he said.

Withe praised the Lebanese performance in the first half. "They played very well. It's unfortunate one of the teams had to drop out."

Lebanon's German coach Theo Bucker said he was unhappy to lose but praised Thailand's performance. "Thailand played very well today," he said. "They came back strongly in the second half and deserved to win. Our players were not fit enough."

Team manager Virat Charnpanich thanked the crowd for their great support. "It is a long time to see such a large and enthusiastic crowd," he said.