Thailand reigns supreme to win Tiger Cup title

Thailand reigns supreme to win Tiger Cup title

BANGKOK (AFP): Worrawot Srimaka scored a hat-trick to steer
Thailand to a comfortable 4-1 victory over Indonesia in the final
to lift the Tiger Cup trophy at the Rajamangala Stadium Saturday.

Srimaka, suspended for the semifinal match against Malaysia,
was in his element, scoring all three goals in the first half
before he was substituted early in the second half.

Thailand's win confirmed its status as soccer king in
Southeast Asia after first winning the Cup in 1996.

Thailand, which won US$80,000 as the champion, set a fast and
furious pace at the start of the match, causing all sorts of
problems for the more unsettled Indonesian team.

It was Thailand's Srimaka who tested Indonesian goalkeeper
Hendro Kartiko as early as the fourth minute. He latched on to a
cross from the left but his shot went straight to Hendro.

Indonesia, which received $40,000 as runner-up, caused the
Thai defense some trouble, but not seriously as Thailand
continued its attack and the crowd of over 50,000 had something
to scream about when Srimaka scored in the 14th minute.

Thai skipper Surachai Jaturapattarapong sent in a superb cross
from the left flank and Srimaka rose high above the Indonesian
defenders to head it home.

Two minutes later Thailand's Kiatisuk 'Zico' Senamuang saw his
shot saved but there was no stopping the marauding Thais who got
their second goal in the 18th minute, again through Srimaka.

Tawan Sripan sent in a high pass from midfield and Indonesian
defender misread the bounce of the ball which went over him to
the unmarked Srimaka who made no mistake.

Indonesia hit one back two minutes later when Uston Nawawi
beautifully curled in a freekick past the wall and goalkeeper.

Boosted by this goal, Indonesia threw itself into the game but
it was too late. Srimaka got his hat-trick in the 43rd minute
heading in a corner taken by Jaturapattarapong to make it 3-1.

Thailand completely outclassed Indonesia in the second half
and made it 4-1 in the 65th minute when Thanongsak Pajakkat
slammed the ball home from just outside the box from a poor
defensive clearance.

Indonesia was reduced to 10 men in the next minute when Djet
Donald Laala received his second yellow card of the match.

Meanwhile, unfancied Malaysia pulled off a major upset when it
defeated favorite Vietnam to win the bronze medal in the earlier
match.

Two-goal hero Rusdi Suparman led the Malaysians to this
unexpected victory with Rosdi Talib putting them ahead in the
first half, followed by two goals from Suparman in the second.

Malaysia's win dashed Vietnam coach Alfred Reidl's hopes of
returning home with at least one medal to pacify the soccer-crazy
Vietnamese fans.

He said after the match that some of his players did not play
to expectations as they had not really recovered physically after
the semifinal match against Indonesia which went into extra-time.

Abdul Rahman Ibrahim was elated with the surprise result,
saying that it was one of Malaysia's better matches and that the
reserve players he fielded gave a good account of themselves.

Vietnam, which was bundled out of the semifinals by Indonesia
on Thursday, created several goalscoring chances but its dismal
finishing let it down.

It also felt the absence of attacking midfielder Nguyen Hong
Son who was forced to sit out the match after receiving two
yellow cards.

It was certainly a fine performance by the Malaysians who
earned $20,000 while Vietnam received half the amount.