Thailand holds a significant advantage after beating Malaysia 2-0.
Despite having home advantage, Thailand needed a bit of luck to break the deadlock before scoring the goal that sealed a 2-0 victory against Malaysia, giving them a significant advantage going into the second leg on December 20th.
Thailand's intention to impose their game and seek an early goal was evident from the start, but Malaysia showed they were "no pushovers." In fact, it was coach Dollah Salleh's players who created the first dangerous opportunities in the first half.
First, Amri Bin Yahyah's direct header went straight to goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchannan. Then, in the 7th minute, during a counter-attack through the center, Norshahhrul Talaha broke through to face Kawin, but after a moment of hesitation, the visiting team's striker took a shot but failed to beat the home team's goalkeeper.
Malaysia (left) failed to overcome the pressure at Rajamangala Stadium.
After a few minutes of allowing Malaysia to surprise them with dangerous counter-attacks, the Thai players calmly deployed their attacking strategy, putting increasing pressure on Farizal Marlias' goal. However, against Malaysia's close-marking style of play, even resorting to fouls, the home team's strikers faced considerable difficulties and rarely had opportunities to shoot from favorable positions.
In such a rare opportunity (43'), Adisak Kraisrrorn broke through to face goalkeeper Farizal Marlias, but the striker's shot hit the Malaysian goalkeeper and went out of bounds.
Thailand pushed forward in attack right from the start of the second half, but Malaysia thwarted them with fouls, most notably Amri Bin Yahyah's foul on Narubadin, which resulted in a yellow card. However, with their proactive style of play, the Thai players still managed to find space to shoot. In quick succession, in the 53rd and 56th minutes, Thosakrai and Adisak had chances to shoot from inside the visitors' penalty area, but both missed.
In the 68th minute, Kraisorn broke free and unleashed a dangerous shot, but the ball went straight to the Malaysian goalkeeper. In the 72nd minute, Adisak fell inside Malaysia's penalty area, and the referee blew the whistle for a foul, awarding Thailand a penalty. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Charyl Chappuis scored the opening goal for Thailand.
After Malaysia conceded a goal, coach Dollah Salleh made two substitutions to strengthen his team's attack. However, Malaysia's efforts to find a goal were unsuccessful.
Furthermore, just four minutes before the end of regular time, goalkeeper Marlias had to pick the ball out of his net for the second time. Songkrasin dribbled down the left wing and passed the ball back inside to Thawikan, who accurately slotted it home to seal a 2-0 victory for the home team, Thailand.
Leading Malaysia 2-0, coach Kiatisuk Senamuang's team has a significant advantage going into the second leg of the final at Bukit Jalil Stadium on December 20th.
According to the Cultural Center
