Down Under, we were thunder

Up against the overwhelming favourites Australia, who have qualified for the last two World Cup finals in Germany and South Africa, the Thai side found themselves in a winning position for nearly an hour before ending up 2-1 losers at the Suncorp stadium in Brisbane on Friday.

The result was a bit harsh for the Thais, who belied their low ranking to prove more than a match to their illustrious opponents sitting 98 spots above them in 22nd place. They had every reason to feel bitter after coming within five minutes to claim at least a point for their perseverance.

Despite the game ending in a predictable manner, the outcome was a big surprise to goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, the most-capped player in the Australia squad. He admitted that the victory felt like a defeat. 

Huge credit must go to the 61-year-old Winfried Schaefer who transformed the underachieving side under the much maligned Bryan Robson to become competitive once again. The former Cameroon coach has been in his new job for only two months.

The scrappy nature of the 3-2 win over lowly Palestine, which earned Thailand a place in the last-20 stage, appeared to disguise the instant effect Schaefer's appointment had made on the team. It is worth noting that the 1-0 first-leg win at home to the Middle East team came only a few weeks after the German officially took over the reins in July.

Thus, the narrow loss to Australia underscored the progress the Thai side has been made under Schaefer's stewardship. The spirited display is an encouraging sign that this Thai team has some future. It makes people wonder why the German had not replaced Robson, who proved that fame on the pitch counts for nothing when it comes to coaching, much earlier.

There were several positives to take from the Brisbane fixture for the Thais. On top of it is forward Teerasil Dangda's opening goal which was a culmination of a well-worked move in counter-attack.

Most impressive was the way the Thai defence defied their physical disadvantage to cope with the hosts' aerial threat in the form of towering striker Josh Kennedy, who stood at 194 cms, and Everton midfielder Tim Cahill.

So effective was the Thai side's handling of the aerial assault that Australia's German coach Holger Osieck had to make a tactical change by taking off Cahill after an hour and playing with two men up front. The move eventually paid dividends following substitute striker Alex Brosque's opportunistic strike.

 But, while Schaefer managed to address his side's susceptibility to long balls, it was the Thai team's chronic problem, the players' fitness, which undid his work. The Australians looked more threatening in the second half when the Thais noticeably became tired.

Though the team returned home empty-handed, the draw between Oman and Saudi Arabia in the other Group D match meant that Thailand did not lose too much ground in the race for one of the two qualification spots.

Though the players are disappointed by the heart-breaking defeat, Schaefer, who guided Cameroon to the African Cup of Nations in 2002, is well aware that they need to get over it quickly. There is still work to be done with the visit of Oman as early as Tuesday at the Rajamangala National Stadium.

The German has been around for too long to know that it is the result that counts most in football not the performance.