We must learn a lesson from Indonesian experience: Kiatisak
National coach Kiatisak Senamuang said his side needed to learn a lesson from the experience of letting Indonesia come back into the game with two goals in Saturday’s Group A opener in the Asean Football Championship.
Thailand, who will take on Singapore tomorrow, were indebted to red-hot striker Teerasil Dangda who bailed out his team from a calamitous collapse with two late strikes to complete his hat-trick and secure a flattering 4-2 victory over a spirited Indonesia.
The three points from the Philippines Sports Stadium fixture in Manila put Thailand on top of the table after Singapore and the hosts Philippines played out a goalless draw in the group’s other match.
“We need to tighten up our defence. We did well against Australia, not allowing any crosses. We were twice caught out even though Indonesia had few chances to cross the ball.
“That’s an important lesson for us. We came through the afternoon thanks to the experience of players like Mui [Teerasil’s nickname], Jay [Chanathip Songkrasin] and Oum [Theerathon Bunmathan], who came on in the second half.
“We played only 70 per cent of our potential but it was not that bad. Overall, we were in control of the game. The most important thing is to correct the mistakes we made at the back,” Kiatisak said.
The former national striker reserved special praise for his captain Teerasil, whose hat-trick put the 28-year-old level with him on 12 goals as the country’s second highest scorer in the tournament behind Worawut Srimaka (15).
“I congratulated him for his personal milestone. There’re many more games and I believe he will get more opportunities to extend his record. I just want him to maintain his standard.”
