Published on September 07, 2005

[SOCCER] Young Thai forward Teeratep “Leesaw” Winothai vowed to extend his goal-scoring streak against Singapore to help his side win the Pre-SEA Games football tournament.

Dogged by injury in recent times, the former Crystal Palace trainee, who was once touted as the most talented player of his age in the country, has struggled to reproduce his best form for either his current club BEC Tero Sasana or the national team. As a result, the 20-year-old striker has spent most of his time on the substitutes’ bench.

And last month things got worse. He was widely criticised for his behaviour in the game against Premier League team Bolton during the FA Premier League Asia Trophy tournament when he wasted most of his time on the pitch arguing with the Trotters’ players and referee instead of concentrating on the game.

Following the match, Leesaw was sidelined by coach Chanvit Polchivin, who was not satisfied with his conduct as a role model to young Thais.

But in the last week, he was given another chance to prove himself and he responded in fine fashion by scoring five goals in two games, including a hat-trick against Malaysia in Monday’s semi-final on Monday.

“I think I’m nearly back to my old form now. I will give it all in the final. If I have an opportunity to score, I will take it, not only to help my team clinch the title but also to seal the tournament’s top scorer award for myself,” said Leesaw, who scored twice against Singapore in the last group match.

Chanvit agreed that Thailand stood a good chance of winning the tournament despite having to again face Singapore, whose features almost half of the players that clinched the Tiger Cup earlier this year.

“My players are confident that the title will be in our hands if we continue the form we showed against Malaysia. However, nothing is 100 per cent so there is still a 0.01 per cent chance of my team missing out,” said Chanvit who is aiming to make history by leading the national team to a seventh straight SEA Games title. “Although we beat them [Singapore] in the preliminary round, we have to make sure that the lads have the right attitude tomorrow because we’re facing strong opponents.

“We’ve already learned from the first meeting how good they are so we will have to concentrate throughout the game. I think Singapore will use the same tactics, defending deep in their own half and waiting for the chance to counter-attack,” Chanvit said.

“So, what we have to do is try to score early to open the game up and limit the chances for them to counter-attack. That will be the recipe for success”.

Chanvit hinted that he would stick to the side that thrashed Malaysia 7-0 and that would mean Leesaw will get another chance to stake his claim for a regular spot in the team.

The final between Malaysia and Thailand will take place at the Royal Thai Army stadium. The game kicks off at 8.30pm tonight, and can be seen live on Channel 11.

Kitinan Sanguansak

The Nation

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