Thais send strong warning to rivals

SINGAPORE — Record 14-time champions Thailand have sent a clear message that it would take a lot to knock them off their perch as the region’s footballing kingpins.

Last night, the Thais opened their SEA Games campaign with a 6-0 thrashing of minnows Laos at the Bishan Stadium.

With Group B rivals Vietnam also beating Brunei by the same scoreline in the earlier, first event of the 2015 SEA Games, Thailand were quickly off the mark with goals from Weerawatnodom Narubadin, Pombubpha Chananan and Sriyankem Nurul, giving them a 3-0 lead at the half-time interval.

With Thai danger man Chanathip Songkrasin policed closely by the Laotians, Chananan stepped up to complete his hat-trick with two further goals in the second half, before adding his fourth 16 minutes from time, in front of 1,500 fans to ensure Thailand shared top spot in Group B with Vietnam after the opening day.

The result reaffirms Thailand’s status as favourites to win the final at the National Stadium on June 15, but head coach Choketawee Promrut insisted he was not reading too much into their win over Laos.

“I’m not particularly concerned about scoring more goals than Vietnam,” said former Thai national defender Choketawee. “The goal difference does not bother me at all. The players today were all relaxed because I didn’t want to put them under pressure, and they are all well aware of the tactics and what is expected of them.”

Despite his incredible individual performance, Chananan credited the entire team for the win.

“I think the squad we have is much stronger than the 2013 squad. The team plays the way I like — quick and fast football — and I’m very confident of our chances in this tournament,” said the Muangthong United forward. “But first, we’ll focus on our next game (against Timor Leste) and I’m sure we’ll be able to get all three points again.”

Laos coach David Booth admitted he was surprised by the heavy 6-0 scoreline and criticised his players for failing to follow his instructions.

“We knew exactly how Thailand would play. We worked hard at training, but we failed to do that during the game,” he said.

“For now, we need to forget all about today and focus on the next game against Brunei, because we don’t really have much time to prepare for it.”

Laos will next take on Brunei tomorrow, while Thailand face Timor Leste on Monday.

With Vietnam — who beat Brunei thanks to goals from defender Pham Manh Hung, midfielder Pham Duc Huy and forwards Le Thanh Binh, Tran Phi Son, Nguyen Cong Phuong and Mac Hong Quan — set to meet sterner tests in their upcoming Group B fixtures against Malaysia (June 2) and Thailand (June 10), Toshiya was pleased to see his key players returning to form.

“For me, the most positive aspect of the game was that the players who had not played 90 minutes before the game managed to get a run out, and I can see their condition is much better now,” Toshiya said.

Today’s matches:

Group B: Malaysia v Timor Leste — live on MediaCorp okto at 8.25pm and on Toggle at 8.30pm.