Thailand Punish Wasteful Lions in ASEAN Semi-Final
SINGAPORE: Under the Jalan Besar floodlights, Singapore swung hard. Thailand landed the punches that mattered.
A ruthless brace from Teerasak Poeiphimai and a captain’s strike from Seksan Ratree fired the War Elephants to a 3-1 first-leg win in the ASEAN football championship semi-finals on Saturday, leaving the Lions staring at a mountain in Bangkok.
Ilhan Fandi’s late curler kept the tie alive. Just.
History, rankings and a familiar script
The numbers were ugly before a ball was kicked.
Singapore, ranked 148th in the world, had not beaten Thailand in about 14 years. Thailand, the tournament’s highest-ranked side at 94th and seven-time champions, had won the last 10 meetings between the teams.
The last Singapore victory over the War Elephants dated back to 2012 – a 3-1 first-leg win in the final at Jalan Besar. The Lions lifted the trophy that year despite losing the return leg 1-0.
This time, they will again need something extraordinary away from home.
Bright start, brutal punishment
Gavin Lee’s side came out with intent. Backed by a full house at Jalan Besar, the Lions started on the front foot, snapping into challenges and moving the ball with purpose.
In the seventh minute, Shawal Anuar tested Thai goalkeeper Kampol Pathomakkakul, only to see his effort blocked. Singapore controlled the early exchanges, pinning Thailand back and feeding off the noise from the stands.
Then, from nowhere, the game flipped.
In the 14th minute, a routine goal kick turned into a disaster. Skipper Hariss Harun received from Izwan Mahbud and played into Kyoga Nakamura, who was immediately swarmed. Seksan Ratree pounced, stole the ball and slipped it into Teerasak.
The striker’s shot took a faint touch off Irfan Fandi and skidded past Izwan into the bottom corner. Against the run of play, Thailand were in front. The punishment for one sloppy moment was severe.
Singapore tried to hit back. Glenn Kweh whipped in a dangerous cross from the right, forcing Kampol into a punch under pressure. The Lions stayed on the front foot, but Thailand’s cutting edge was sharper.
Teerasak’s double and a missed lifeline
On 26 minutes, Teerasak struck again. A neat passing move through midfield opened Singapore up, and the forward sprayed the ball wide to an unmarked Waris Choolthong on the right.
Waris took a touch and delivered a superb cross. Teerasak ghosted between Hariss and Lionel Tan and powered his header home. Two chances, two goals. The War Elephants were clinical; the Lions were shell-shocked.
Singapore were handed a route back before the break.
From a long Lionel Tan throw into a crowded Thai box, the ball dropped invitingly to Jacob Mahler a few metres out. With the goal gaping, he blazed over. Agony.
Then came another twist. The video assistant referee alerted the on-field official to a push on Shawal by Yotsakorn Burapha. Penalty.
Shawal grabbed the ball. The stadium held its breath. Kampol guessed right, plunging low to his right to push the spot-kick away.
The miss stung. Singapore still kept coming, dominating possession for the rest of the half. Nakamura had a sight of goal after Mahler pulled the ball back from the right, but he too fired over. The Lions went into the interval two down, their effort not reflected on the scoreboard.
Thailand strike again, Lions hit back late
Lee rolled the dice at half-time, sending on top scorer Ilhan Fandi for Kweh and shuffling Shawal out to the right. The message was clear: chase the game.
Thailand refused to sit back.
Five minutes after the restart, another error cost Singapore dearly. A loose pass from Tan was intercepted, and substitute Patrik Gustavsson – on since the first half for Teerasak – surged past Tan down the flank. He squared for Seksan, who arrived in stride and finished cleanly for 3-0.
Lee responded by replacing Tan with Ryhan Stewart on 56 minutes, trying to steady a backline that had been ruthlessly exposed.
Ilhan thought he had found a lifeline in the 59th minute, stealing in behind the Thai defence and almost rounding Kampol, only for the offside flag to cut short the celebrations.
The pattern settled: Singapore saw more of the ball, but their final pass repeatedly broke down. Thailand sat compact, then sprang forward on the counter.
On 64 minutes, Izwan was called into a one-on-one rescue act, standing tall to deny Picha Autra and prevent a fourth Thai goal.
The Lions kept pushing. The crowd kept roaring. The breakthrough finally arrived in the 83rd minute.
Ilhan picked up the ball outside the box, opened his body and curled a precise shot into the bottom corner. Jalan Besar erupted. At last, something to cling to.
Singapore surged forward again, chasing a second goal that would have changed the complexion of the tie. Yet for all the late pressure, Kampol was rarely forced into serious work, and Thailand saw out the win with a minimum of drama.
Coaches’ verdicts and a second leg looming
Thailand head coach Anthony Hudson hailed his side’s display, calling it a solid performance and saying he was proud of his players against what he described as a very difficult opponent. He stressed, though, that this was “only half-time” in the tie and demanded an even bigger performance back in Bangkok.
He also labelled Singapore a “complicated team” to face, pointing to their structure and organisation as reasons why it was hard to build sustained pressure against them.
On the other bench, Gavin Lee cut a frustrated figure. He admitted the Lions had put themselves in “quite a few unnecessarily difficult moments” and “made it easy for Thailand” at times, but backed his squad to respond.
“The fans didn't give up on us, we cannot give up on ourselves,” he said, noting that reducing the deficit by one keeps the door slightly ajar. With this group, he insisted, anything is possible.
Lee reserved his strongest words for the supporters. He praised and thanked them, admitting his biggest disappointment was not delivering a performance and result worthy of their backing on the night.
They sang. They stayed. They drove the team on to the final whistle.
Now the question hangs over this tie: can the Lions turn that noise into something seismic in Bangkok, or will this night at Jalan Besar be remembered as the moment Thailand tightened their grip on yet another regional crown?
