Kiatisak fears Jakarta ambush
National coach Kiatisak Senamuang admits he’s worried about playing the first leg of the Asean Championship final away to Indonesia next week despite Thailand making the strongest statement yet of their title credentials by demolishing Myanmar in the semis.
The Kingdom produced a ruthless display in front of goal to condemn Myanmar to a 4-0 loss, their heaviest defeat of the tournament, in the second leg at Rajamangala National Stadium on Thursday, sweeping into the final of the biennial tournament with a 6-0 aggregate win.
Standing between the Thais and a record-breaking fifth regional crown are Indonesia, who showed remarkable resilience to withstand Vietnam’s fightback in the second leg in Hanoi before prevailing 4-3 on aggregate after extra time to make the final for a fifth time.
Indonesia boast the second highest number of Asean final appearances but have yet to taste success in the championship and have already suffered a 4-2 group stage loss to Thailand, who are set for their eighth title showdown.
However, former national striker Kiatisak, who helped the Thais win their fourth title two years ago and catch Singapore as the tournament’s joint most successful team, remains concerned about Thailand’s back-to-back final appearance.
“If Indonesia weren’t any good, they wouldn’t have made it to the final. So we need to have good preparation. We now have all the information about their starting 11, substitutes and tactics.
“But the most difficult thing for us is playing away first. In the group stage, they managed to score two goals against us. That means they know where to attack us. They also have a sound defence and their two fullbacks support the attack well on both flanks. Up front, they have adopted players, so we need good planning.
Kiatisak’s side won all five matches en route to the final to match their best sequence in the tournament back in 2000, but the 43-year-old coach won’t be focusing on the record in the first leg on December 14 in Jakarta.
“I’m not thinking about achieving any record, because our primary target is winning the title. We want to take it step by step. Every time we get on the pitch there is pressure since we always want to win. We just need to win and other things will take care of themselves.”
The Thai squad departs for Indonesia tomorrow.
Thailand will host the return leg at Rajamangala National Stadium on December 17.
