A thrilling 2nd Leg Final of the 2014 AFF Championship ended with a 3-2 win for Malaysia against Thailand at Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur. However, the result wasn’t enough for the Malayan Tigers to turn the table as they were beaten 0-2 in the 1st Leg. So, Thailand claimed their 4th South East Asian title after a 12-year long wait by winning 4-3 on aggregate. The Thais now have the same number of title as Singapore in the sub-continent. As for Kiatisak ‘Zico’ Senamuang, he became the first person in the whole world to win the title as player and as coach.
The match itself was a roller-coaster ride. Malaysia actually had themselves ahead of Thailand up until the 80th minute. A 3-goal lead would have been enough for Dollah Saleh’s crew to put their hands on the trophy. But The War Elephants struck back in the last 10 minutes of the game with a double, leaving most people in Bukit Jalil sighed. Nonetheless, kudos for Safiq Rahmi & co. for their motivation and persistence during the match.
First Half
Malaysia took the steering wheel at the earliest part of the match. They played a direct ball and immediately push up to apply pressure towards Thai defense. On the 5th minute, Azamuddin found a space on the right and sent the ball to Norshahrul inside the box. Suttinun Phukhom anticipated the pass and tried to intercept, while Norshahrul’s left food reached out trying to block the interception. The contact brought down both players and out-of-nowhere, the referee pointed to the spot signaling penalty for Malaysia. The Thais protested the decision but it went unchanged. Safiq Rahim simply deceived Kawin and scored his 5th goal of the tournament which was also his 4th from the spot. Malaysia 1, Thailand 0.
The early goal boosted up Malaysians’ confidence and spirit. It brought Azamuddin too steamed-up as he got injured while challenging Kawin on a 60-40 ball for the Thai keeper. That was Azamuddin’s last action of the match and Safee came up to replace him later on. The change surely sharpened Malaysian attack up front.
On the other hand, Thailand was alerted by that goal and eventually started to attack. In the 12th minute, Perapat fired a long-range effort which struck Farizal’s up-right and went out. It was the cue that the game is on for both teams.
For the most part of the half, Malaysia played the intimidation game towards the young Thai side. Rough tackles and hard challenges were delivered to threaten Thailand both physically and psychologically. The strategy was also applied to repress Thai aggressiveness. In total, Malaysian players committed 11 fouls and received 3 yellow cards in the half.
In the 33rd minute, Thailand found an opening on the left side of Malaysian defense. Chanathip sent a through pass to Weerawatnodom who then put a low cross in front of Farizal’s goal. Adisak failed to connect and the ball went towards an unmarked Kroekrit. Lucky for Malaysia, Kroekrit’s left footed shot missed the target.
The last 10 minutes of the half saw Malaysia pushing forward. They tried to break Thai defense from both flanks. At the 40th minute, Safiq penetrated Thai penalty box from the right and sent the ball to Norshahrul in the middle. As the Malaysian no. 9 pulled the trigger, Sarach was quick to close the angle and bumped the shot away from Kawin’s goal.
Malaysia kept on banging the Thai defense up until the stoppage time and finally came up positive. Norshahrul put up a high cross from the right. Kawin miscalculated the cross as he chased the ball for nothing. Indra Putra played his experience card against Weerawatnodom on an air battle and won the duel. Indra’s header bounced to the ground and comfortably landed inside the net. The goal equalized the aggregate and brought Bukit Jalil explodes with joy -including the Prime Minister himself. The referee then ended the first half with Malaysia 2, Thailand 0.
Second Half
At this point, both teams realized that another goal would be very important for the outcome of the match. Malaysia needed one to get ahead on aggregate, while Thailand had the same need to exploit the away goal rule. Thailand took the early initiative in search of the need. In the 48th minute, Chanathip sent an incisive through pass towards Kroekrit right in front of Malaysia’s box. The Thai attacking midfielder had to make a pulling step to avoid Kunanlan’s charge. Still and all, Kunanlan managed to block Kroekrit’s shot on a quick exchange.
Kiatisak must have made his own version of “hairdryer treatment” towards his players during the half time talk. The Thais gained back their calm and confidence and started what they do best throughout the tournament. A couple of half chances were made, although none of them changed their scoreboard number at the first 10 minutes of the half. Malaysia, on the other hand, seemed to have grown a little bit comfortable with the ongoing result.
Nevertheless, Malaysia turned out to be the first to get ahead. Norshahrul found a break in front of Thailand’s penalty box following a one-touch pass from Safee. This time, Phukhom brought Norshahrul down with shoulder blitz. Safiq stepped up to take the free kick as he aimed for his 6th goal in the tournament. He then fired a beautiful dipping curl over the wall. In fact, the ball went between Tanaboon and Phukhom’s heads before it busted Kawin’s net for the third time. A world class goal brought the Malayan Tigers up 3-2 on aggregate in the 58th minute. Bukit Jalil went crazy of excitement.
Malaysia just had to cling on the result to be the champion of the tournament. As they went through the agenda, they had to replace Afif and Indra as the both 30-somethings left the pitch due to injuries. Muslim Ahmad replaced Afif in the 69th minute, and Gary Robbat replaced Indra in the 79th minute.
When the match entered its last 10 minutes, Malaysia opted to play the “park the bus” strategy. However, as the bus was pulled over and about to be parked, Thailand found a way in. Norshahrul who was practically everywhere during the match brought down Sarach with a nasty pull right in front of his own penalty’s box, putting up an ideal distance for a free-kick shot for the Thais.
As the referee signaled the free kick to be taken, Kroekrit pulled a dummy run which successfully distracted the Malaysian defense. Sarach then fired an out-swinging shot which Farizal could only desperately parry back to the playing area. Charyl was quick to get the rebound ahead of any Malaysian players and put the ball through Farizal’s legs. Malaysia 3, Thailand 1, at the 82nd minute.
The goal put Thailand ahead on away goal and called a Malaysian all-out attack. The strategy left a big hole on Malaysian defense and the Thais immediately made the full of it. In the 87th minute, Sarawut made a run through the right side and passed the ball to Adisak, who lured 2 Malaysian players and opened up a space for Chanathip in the middle. Without further ado, Adisak sent the ball to Chanathip, who, at this point, had 2 options of going for glory or pass the ball to an unmarked Kroekrit on his left. Messi J chose the first option and delivered it with a bang. A hard left-footed shot busted Farizal’s net and put the score line back in favor of Thailand on aggregate.
Malaysia realized that they need some kind of miracle to score another 2 goals in less than 5 minutes. The situation have made them frustrated as the stadium silenced and Safee and Yahya shot a desperate long range efforts which weren’t a problem for Kawin. The referee blew the final whistle with Full Time score: Malaysia 3-2 Thailand.
Malaysia:
1. Farizal; 16. Kunanlan, 12. Shukor, 2. Afif (24. Muslim 69′), 21. Zubir; 19. Azamuddin (10. Safee 14′), 8. Safiq, 14. Badhri, 17. Amri; 13. Indra Putra (15. Gary Robbat 79′); 9. Norshahrul.
Thailand:
1. Kawin; 13. Weerawatnodom, 5. Phukhom, 17. Tanaboon, 2. Perapat; 6. Sarach, 12. Prakit (14. Sarawut 67′); 7. Charyl, 18. Chanathip, 4. Kroekrit (19. Adul 87′); 9. Adisak.
***
Even though they did not win the championship, Malaysia have successfully shown their true quality in the match. They overcame their resignation of the fact that they were beaten 0-2 by the same side in the previous 1st leg final, and came up with 3 goals. Involuntary changes of player in the critical minutes could have caused them lose their grasp. The change somehow reset the team’s chemistry and forced the players to re-adapt. Thailand, on the other hand, successfully turned the outcome of the match on the aforementioned critical minutes. It wasn’t a coincident that 5 out of the 12 goals scored by the Thais prior to the match were scored after the 80th minute.
The 48%-52% ball possession percentage showed that the match was a tight one. To justify the statement, both teams also recorded the same number of shots on target (6). But, in terms of discipline, Malaysia was no better than Thailand. Harsh playing style by Malaysia made Thailand suffered 19 fouls. The referee also had to award 6 different Malaysian players yellow card.
Though he didn’t score, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha‘s role was massive enough to make him Man of the Match. He recorded 24 successful passes with 82.75% accuracy. He also made 2 successful tackles with 100% success rate. 4 out of 5 goals of the match had his name on it. He was the party who was fouled before Safiq’s 2 goals, he assisted Indra’s goal, and he committed the foul which ended up with Charyl’s goal.
Thailand’s triumph pointed out their success on home-grown youth development. Putting a fresh-young coach in charge of fresh-young players came up with positive results. The title was a mere cherry-on-top for these bright spirited youngsters. How they play has shown their level of quality, while how they cope under critical situation will surely bring a major influence for themselves in the future. Congratulations, Thailand!