Thai striker Teeratep Winothai, left, challenges Cha Jong Hyok of North Korea in the Pre-Olympic qualifying round at Supachalasai Stadium.

Thailand's chances of qualifying for the 2008 Olympics suffered a huge setback when they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of North Korea in their Group E opener at Supachalasai Stadium yesterday.

Prapol Pongpanich's side were short of ideas up front against their stubborn opponents and had to pay a high price for their failure to turn their dominance into goals. The North Koreans delivered a sucker punch against the run of play midway into the first half, converting one of their only two real chances in the match.

"The team's performance was not too bad as we had plenty of chances but failed to take all of them," lamented Prapol.

"North Korea had only two chances and they converted one into a goal. We must do something about our finishing if we want to qualify. Today was just the first step and we still have five more games to make amends for our loss. I still believe that we can make it to the next round," said Prapol.

Given the result, Thailand face an uphill task to progress to the final qualifying round. The Thai team now must claim a win from their away trip to India on March 14, a team that is considered the weakest, in order to keep their hopes alive.

"No points from the first game has left us in a difficult situation. We must continue working hard and try not to lose again," said Kasem Jaliyawatwong, the team manager.

"We have no choice but to attack in the rest of the fixtures. The match against India has become a must-win. We will attack from the start," said Kasem, who apologised to fans for the team's woeful performance.

Knowing that a victory will boost his side's campaign, coach Prapol took the risk by playing an attacking 3-4-3 formation, with Teeratep "Leesaw" Winothai, Chakrit Buathong and Teerasil Dangda forming a three-pronged attack.

Although local fans filled only half of the stadium, they made twice as much noise with their bugles and drums, to compensate for the absent numbers.

A big applause greeted both teams when they took to the field. With the match ready for kick-off, the referee, Omar Saeedi of the UAE, ran to the sidelines from the circle to get his whistle, drawing some chuckles from the amused crowd.

Prapol's tactic seemed to work in the initial stages of the game as Thailand put their opponents under constant pressure, in particular Leesaw who was the main source of the threat with his pace and skills.

Thailand had their first and only notable chance in the first half from a set piece 30 yards out in the 11th minute after Pak Nam Chol handled the ball but Chakrit sent his shot into the wall.

The visitors' first sight on goal also came from a free-kick at an almost similar distance but proved equally wasteful as Ri Jun Il whipped his attempt over the wall but it went harmlessly over the bar.

The hosts intensified the pressure in search of a breakthrough only to fail in finding the telling pass in the vital moments.

Having been on the back foot for a large spell, North Korea reduced the noisy crowd to silence when a lovely one-two passing caught the Thai defence napping in the 22nd minute.

An Chol Hyok started the move before running into the area to receive a return pass and calmly fired it past Thai goalie Chalermkiat Sombatpan, much to the delight of a small group of travelling fans.

Prapol's side took time before recovering from the blow but inconsistency continually crept into their play, leaving the partisan crowd upset time and again.

The home team must have felt that it was not their night at the stroke of half-time when Chakrit found himself clear on the byline before delivering a delightful left-side cross to Leesaw who completely missed his kick barely six yards out. The danger was promptly cleared.

In the second half, Thailand poured their men forward but seemed to run out of ideas to make their way through the North Korean defence who stood firm under heavy pressure to hold onto the lead.

Meanwhile, in Seoul, South Korea beat Yemen 1-0 Wednesday in their first in the first game of the Asian second qualifying round for the Beijing Olympics

The hosts went ahead, when forward Yang Dong-hyen tucked home a low pass from Park Chu-young.

But Park was handed a red card for violent play, five minutes before the final whistle.

He will miss the next preliminary against the United Arab Emirates on March 14. South Korea will host Uzbekistan on March 28 in their third and last qualifier.

In Tokyo, Sota Hirayama helped Japan beat Hong Kong 3-0. But Japan coach Yasuharu Sorimachi was not happy with his team's performance. "The only thing we gained today was that we won. We played badly," he said.

Kitinan Sanguansak

The Nation