JP/6/THAI

JP/6/THAI

Thailand show why they are title favorites

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): After scoring two straight wins,
defending champions Thailand are clearly the hot favorites to
lift the men's football title again in this edition of the SEA
Games, which for the first time is an under-23 tournament.

The Thais, who showed speed and precision passing, could have
beaten frontrunners Singapore by a wider margin yesterday if not
for the outstanding performance of Singapore goalkeeper Lionel
Lewis.

Thailand's coach Dolez Otaka, however, played down their
chances, saying that at the moment he was only confident of a
semi-final slot.

After the 7-0 thrashing of Cambodia in their first game and
the 1-0 win over Singapore, the Thais will play minnows Laos on
Friday and Myanmar on Monday to complete their fixtures in Group
A. Thailand are expected to top the group.

"Even against Laos we have to be very careful as their number
10 (Nitsavong Khovn Phachansy) and number 11 (Bounvong
Vannabovathong) are very skillful...all the Laotian players are
very fit," Otaka said.

Laos were beaten 0-4 by Singapore in their first game.

Otaka was pleased with the way his team have been playing,
especially hotshot striker Manit Noyvach and teenage sensation
Teeratep Winnothai who have been combining very well.

Manit scored a hat-trick, the first in this Games, in their
win over Cambodia, while Teeratep scored the first goal of the
tournament, also against Cambodia. Teeratep was on target again
yesterday, scoring the winner against Singapore.

"Our upfront duo, Manit and Teeratep, combined very well and
almost scored on three occasions against Singapore," he said.

Otaka reminded his players to stay focused and not to be
carried away by the two victories.

When pressed further whether he was confident of taking the
team to the final, he said he would rather take one match at a
time.

"At the moment we are confident of a semifinal place. Vietnam,
Indonesia and hosts Malaysia in the other group are about the
same or stronger than Singapore," he said.

The Thais, who have won a record nine football gold medals in
the Games, including four in a row from 1993 to 1999, are now
gunning to equal Myanmar's record of five consecutive gold
medals. Myanmar, known as Burma before, were the joint champions
with Thailand in 1965, and retained the gold in 1967, 1969, 1971
and 1973.

Singapore coach Fleming Nielsen conceded that Thailand are the
overwhelming favorites to lift the title again, saying that his
team were lucky to be beaten only 0-1 by the Thais.

"We made a mistake in the first half by holding back which
gave ample space to the Thai midfield...our offensive midfielders
did not seem to exist at all in the first half.

"I am always disappointed when losing but we have to accept
that the best team win," he said.

Singapore, who are tipped to qualify for the semifinals
alongside Thailand from Group A, will play Cambodia on Wednesday
and Myanmar on Friday.