Teerasil's double downs Myanmar
Red-hot striker Teerasil Dangda’s sublime brace put defending champions Thailand in pole position to reach the final of Asean Championship following a 2-0 victory over Myanmar in the semifinal first leg at packed Thuwanna Stadium in Yangon on Sunday evening.
Cheered on by vociferous capacity crowd at the venue, the hosts quickly settled into their groove as Kaung Naing fired in a low drive that visiting keeper Kawin Thamsatchanan saved well at near post after 10 minutes.
The visitors took time to get into their stride before Pokklaw Anan dummied over the ball, which left Kroekrit Thawikan with a clear sight on goal but the Chonburi FC midfielder failed to beat the home goalie with a left-foot shot from just outside the area.
That marked the beginning of a flurry of chances for the Thais, with Chanathip Songkrasin and Sarach Yooyen both having the opportunity to try their luck from distance. In between those two chances, Teerasil also spurned a great opportunity to put the Thai side in front.
The in-form striker, who leads the tournament’s scoring charts on three goals, was put through into the penalty box but the Muangthong United player opted to pass rather than shooting himself and the chance went bagging.
Teerasil, though, quickly redeemed himself to grab the breakthrough in the 24th minute when he showed great poise and control as he burst into the area before firing a rasping drive into the roof of the net. Moments later, the visitors almost doubled the lead but Kroekrit’s shot cannoned back off the crossbar.
After taking the lead, the Thais were unable to maintain the momentum and allowed the home side to regain the composure as the game wore on.
In the 36th minute, Myanmar almost pegged them back when Mg Mg Lwin already put the ball in the net but his tap-in effort was correctly ruled out for offside, much to the disappointment of the partisan crowd.
The way the visitors began the second half was in contrast to the opening period as they applied the pressure early on that culminated in Teerasil’s second strike of the evening 10 minutes after the break.
The manner the Thai captain clinched his brace clearly showed the 28-year-old was exuding with confidence as he left a defender for dead with a neat turn before cleverly stroking the ball past stranded keeper at near post.
Forward Aung Thu, one of several players who were promoted from the side that played in last year’s U-20 World Cup to the senior team, then came close to pulling a goal back for the hosts when he ran into the area but failed to beat Kawin, who managed to block his shot.
Nevertheless, the Thais managed to hang onto the result to take healthy advantage into Thursday’s return leg at Rajamangala National Stadium.
