Thailand 0-1 Australia

Thailand were left barely clinging on to qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup after a 1-0 loss to Australia at the Supachalasai Stadium. Their faint hopes were kept alive when Oman held Saudi Arabia to a 0-0 draw in Riyadh. In the final game Thailand must win in Oman and hope that the Socceroos can take care of the Saudis in Australia.

This game looked to be heading towards a goalless draw until the two Bretts combined with an unmarked Holman nodding home an Emerton cross with 14 minutes left on the clock.

Australia were subdued for most of the match, and Thailand should have taken the lead on 35 minutes through Suree. He got past Australia's left back, Zullo, and with a clear run on goal he seemed to panic and blasted his shot over the bar. The Chonburi man controlled the through pass perfectly, but with lack of options in the box, he reluctantly took the shot on.

The game appeared to be harmlessly sailing out to a 0-0 draw until Holman netted on the 76th minute. The closest Thailand came to equalizing was when newly introduced substitute, Pipob, headed inches over on 79 minutes.

The Socceroos held out reasonably comfortably after that to book their place in Round 4. It wasn't a great performance for Australia although they'll be happy with the outcome.

For Thailand, it's now 3 games without a goal. The national side has improved massively under Winfried Schaefer and let's hope there will be no knee-jerk reaction from the FAT if Thailand fail to qualify. I was surprised though that the German chose to start with a striker that has only scored one TPL goal this season whilst leaving the lively, Pipob, on the bench. Also why have the top three TPL scorers been omitted from his squad?

A miserable evening was completed for Kirati when he was stretchered off in the 78th minute. The majority of the crowd were unhappy that Australia played on after Kirati crashed into the big Aussie keeper, Mark Schwarzer. After the match the Fulham stopper tweeted "First time tonight I have every played on when a player has gone down 'injured' we just have had enough of the constant diving and acting!"

In Australia's defence, there were three or four occasions when Thai players just lay down waiting for play to be stopped for treatment. The ball was kicked out each time, only for the Thai player to bounce straight off the stretcher back on to the field. Eventually a Thai player, Kirati,  was seriously injured, but the referee and opposition players had had enough by then and played on.

In Thai football culture, play is expected to be stopped any time a player is injured. Unfortunately this rule gets abused with constant faking of injuries especially if a team holds an advantage. Referees are slowly becoming wise to this and there have been times this season when play has been waved on with an injured player lying on the ground much to the bemusement of the Thai crowd. It really irks me when a see a player lying down waiting for treatment as his side are defending. He's basically leaving his side a player short and at a disadvantage. The first rule of football is "PLAY TO THE WHISTLE."
If Thailand want to improve standards in their game then the feigning of injury needs to be stamped out and it must be understood that it is the match officials that decide when play is stopped, not the players!!

Australia 2-1 Thailand

A goal 3 minutes from time was cruel on Thailand as they went down to a 2-1 defeat in Brisbane.

The Thais improved immensely on recent performances showing good organization and passion, but came short at the final hurdle as a stuttering Australia collected 3 points in the opening game in Group D.

The Thai goal on 15 minutes was the quality move of the first half. Sompong played a neat one-two with Rangsan before releasing Jakkraphan Keawprom down the wing. His cross into the box was inch perfect for Teesasil and the Muangthong striker coolly stroked the ball into the gaping net.

After the goal, Australia predictably had the upper hand, but their passing and crossing lacked quality. The closest the Socceroos came in the opening half was a Tim Cahill effort that was scuffed into Sintaweechai's hands after a long ball had been laid off to him in the box.

Five minutes after the break, the Everton hitman missed a glorious chance. A cross from the right was perfect for him at head height, but the unmarked Cahill headed wide.

Australia didn't have to wait long as their equalizer came on 58 minutes when a shot from McKay wasn't held by Sintaweechai and Kennedy tapped in the rebound.

The Socceroos then had a goal ruled out for a Cahill foul on Sintaweechai, and a few minutes later the Thai keeper almost dragged a Cahill header over the line. With the hindsight of replays, it appeared the ball never crossed the line.

It was a dodgy 10 minutes for Sintaweechai but once Cahill went off he commanded his area, and it looked like the Socceroos scoring threat had gone when the Everton man left the field injured on 70 minutes.

Unfortunately for the Thais, they conceded on 87 minutes. A cross from McKay on the left bounced of Josh Kennedy's waist in the box and it landed perfectly for Brosque, and he netted the winner much to the relief of the home crowd.

On reflection, the Socceroos dominated and deserved the win although Thailand can be proud of their resilient performance. If they can play with a similar passion against Oman on Tuesday, then 3 points should be a realistic possibility.