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Published on July 8, 2007

Striker Sutee Suksomkit's dubious penalty helped Thailand earn a valuable point in a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Iraq in the Asian Cup's Group A rain-soaked opening match at Rajamangala National Stadium yesterday.

The game was a clash of contrasting styles, with the short but agile Thai team up against the tall and skilful Middle East team, and the home team showed they were not a side to be easily bullied by physically stronger teams.

The home side's last meeting in the Cup with the Middle East visitors was in the 12th edition in Lebanon, where they suffered a 2-0 defeat in the opening match of their group campaign, as yesterday's match was. To earn some measure of revenge for the loss appeared on the agenda for survivors from that side, including Tawan Sripan, who this time captained the team.

Despite heavy rains prior to the game, the pitch was in a near-perfect condition to play.

The hosts could hardly ask for a better start. Just six minutes into the game they managed to open the scoring with a contentious penalty.

Veteran striker Kiartisak Senamuang latched onto a Datsakorn Thonglao lobbed pass into the box before going down under the challenge of Ali Hussein Rehema. The referee had no hesitation and quickly pointed to the spot, much to the surprise of the visitors' side, as they believed it was not a foul.

The TV replay, however, backed the official's decision, as the Iraqi did make the contact even though the striker seemingly went down too easily. Sutee stepped up to take the spot kick and calmly placed the ball into the bottom left corner, with the goalie diving into the opposite side, sparking wild celebration in the stands.

The Middle East did not waste time mourning on the setback. Instead they quickly regrouped in search of an equaliser. Two minutes later, Thai defender Natthaporn Panlit needed to be on high alert to make a last-ditch intervention before the ball could reach Hawar Mohammed, which would have left the Iraq midfielder with only the Thai keeper to beat.

With the visitors still on top form, Kosin had to produce a string of good saves to keep the score unchanged.

In the space of barely a minute, Kosin pulled off two superb quick-succession saves as the Middle East further intensified their attack. First, he thwarted Younis Mahmoud on a rising shot with his face. Although that stop was already impressive, the second one was even better as he somehow managed to deny what looked a certain goal when he diverted a Salih Sadir acrobatic shot onto the crossbar.

However, the hosts' charming life ended when the game just passed the half-hour mark. The visitors eventually got the reward for their dominance, which saw them pin the hosts in their own half for a long stretch of time.

After some heroic performances, Kosin was responsible for the visitors' equaliser. He made a rash decision to intercept a deep cross into the box from Sanir's free kick and Mahmoud beat him to send a looping header into the far post.

Having watched his side being out-runned by the Middle East team, the tension was plain on Chanvit's face and he must have felt more relieved than his counterpart when the half-time whistle came.

What ever Chanvit talked about at the interval had an impact on his team as the home team seemed to play better in the second half.

With Thailand far from effective in attacking, particularly Kiartisak, who was visibly tired, Chanvit made changes when the game entered the crucial stages in an attempt to seek the winner. The move almost paid dividends three minutes before the end, when substitute Teeratep Winothai found space in the box following a corner before dispatching a curling drive that Abbas splendidly tipped over the crossbar.

The excitement was palpable hours earlier prior to the kick-off as thousands of fans took over the streets around the venue, causing the normally notorious traffic on Ramkhamhaeng Road to be even worse than usual. Most of the crowd responded to the call of "Yellow Power", turning up in yellow shirts.

Tickets were on high demand as fans queued up in seemingly endless lines, with more than 20,000 tickets reportedly sold out. The long queues were also seen in front of booths as fans lined up to get their faces painted with colours of either the national flag or the Thai's team logo. Some built up the atmosphere by singing songs implemented by sounds of drums that delivered a scene to behold.

Kitinan Sanguansak

The Nation