Sports Notes EXTRA - Thailand Wins Pre SEA Games - September 2005

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

Thailand's Winothai A Striking Force - Peter Withe & Son Jason - Cambodian Coach O'Donell Baptized Result 0 Wins & 3 Losses - Cambodian Fans - Tiger Cup Finished - Did You Know? - PRE SEA GAMES RESULTS - FIFA Top 10

Wednesday September 14, 2005

THAILAND U23's WIN AFF PRE-SEA GAMES COMPETITION - Winothai Brings Thai's New Offensive Game

The Thailand U23 team played spirited football while going undefeated and walking away with the AFF Pre-SEA Games competition championship with a 3-0 victory over Singapore at the Army Stadium September 7th in Bangkok.

Teerathep 'Leesaw' Winothai led the Thais by drilling in two goals. The 20-year-old striker also had a hat trick in the semifinals against Malaysia in a 7-0 victory. That win earned them a return match against Singapore whom they defeated 4-1 in an opening round match September 2nd.

In that contest Winothai found the back of the net twice giving him seven goals in his last three games and helping relieve Thailand's team rich but striker poor image. He also scored a goal in the opening 3-1 win over Laos giving him a total of eight in Thailand's five games in the tournament.

The Thai's offensive effort was a complete turnaround from the weak offense they displayed in July when they faced English Premiere League clubs Everton and Bolton followed by a 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid. Granted the Thai's weak offense had a lot to do with their superior competition but.... they were also largely without Winothai who saw limited action.

The team that Thai coach Chanvit Polchivin put on the pitch for those matches was a team rich with hustle and determined persistence but couldn't score goals. Against those Goliath's they managed to register only one goal in 270 minutes of competition.

That lone goal against Everton by Pichitpong Choeichew gave them a 1-1 result in regular time. They won that game 5-3 in a shoot-out. Winothai was the answer in opening up their offense for the Pre-SEA Games matches as he repeatedly found his way into the scoring areas and he delivered. It was reminiscent of the SEA Games performances he had in as a 16-year-old four years ago in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Thai's scored 25 goals while conceding only two in achieving their 5-0 record.

Thailand look well prepared to take the SEA Games title that will take place in the Philippines early December. Coach Chanvit has the team playing in harmony and hustling with a never give up attitude. Plus….. they have talent.

Chanvit 54, is the most productive Thai coach since Peter Withe.

NOTES

Indonesia, Vietnam and Brunei didn't compete in the tournament due to a lack of available players who are playing in leagues in their respective countries.

Former Thai coach and current Indonesia coach Peter Withe, his son Jason and Vietnam coach Alfred Riedl were in attendance at the Thailand, Singapore game scouting the competition.

Withe said he hopes to have six weeks to prepare his squad for the SEA Games. He noted he only had three days to prepare the side for last years Tiger Cup. Indonesia lost in the finals to Singapore.

Jason Withe was the coach of BEC Tero in the Thailand professional league. He won the championship in his second year helm after finishing second during his first year.

The now 34-year-old coach also had a one-year stint coaching Home United in Singapore's S League leading them to a 2nd place finish in the old AFC Cup competition.

He recently finished two and a half years coaching Bangkok Bank in the Thailand League.

Cambodian national team coach Scott O'Donell got his baptismal under fire in the Pre-SEA Games competition since taking on the job one month ago.

His squad started off strong with a last minute 3-2 loss to eventual finalist Singapore.

"We could have snatched that one," O'Donell said. They scored, they kicked the ball, they (refs) blew the whistle and that was it," he added.

After being encouraged by his side's competitiveness against Singapore the Khmer's went into a funk and took an 8-0 drubbing from Thailand.

In the battle of fellow minnows' Laos, Cambodia went down to a 3-0 defeat. The good news is that after giving up two goals in the first half the team improved in the second half.

"It couldn't get much worse," O'Donell commented. He stressed to the team in a constructive way the importance of good physical team conditioning, focus and the will to win.

The occasional ESPN sports analyst said the squad was chosen for the games by previous coaches prior to his arrival. He then scouted the Cambodian professional league and added four players.

O'Donell currently has the team working out in a gym in Phnom Penh. For who stays and who remains for the squad that will travel to the Philippines for the real SEA Games… stay tuned.

We counted 122 in attendance for the Laos, Cambodia game. The Laos fans got together on one side of the grandstand and five loyal Cambodia fans on the other. The Cambodian's are attending college in Bangkok. Four are enrolled at ASBAC University and one attends Chulalongkorn University.

The Tiger Cup will be no more. They have gotten their mileage out of their sponsorship and are bowing out as the sponsor of the ASEAN championship competition for the senior national teams.

How will that play out in the record books if say Heineken Beer should decide to take over the sponsorship? Stay tuned…..

Teeratep Winothai's father is a sports journalist with a major Thai language newspaper.

WEATHER PLAYS HAVOC ON GAME SITES

Heavy downpours of rain caused the game sites to be moved from National Stadium. After strong rains, games were played on the National stadium turf. The pitch was chewed up thus rendering it useless. The semifinals and finals were played at the Japanese, Army and a stadium adjacent to the National Stadium.

PRE-SEA GAMES RESULTS

Indonesia and Brunei dropped out of the competition leaving the event with eight teams. The reshuffled groups included:

Group A: Philippines, Myanmar (Burma), Malaysia and Timor Leste (East Timor),

Group B: Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos Pre-SEA Games schedule

Aug 29: Singapore 3 - Cambodia 2; Thailand 3 vs. Laos 1

Aug 30: Philippines 0 vs. Myanmar 3; Malaysia vs. Timor (Timor forfeit due to late arrival to Bangkok)

Aug 31: Cambodia 0 vs. Thailand 8; Laos 2 vs. Singapore 3

Sep 1: Myanmar 7 vs. Timor 0; Malaysia 2 vs. Philippines 1

Sep 2: Thailand 4 vs. Singapore 1; Cambodia 0 vs. Laos 3

Sep 3: Timor Leste 1 vs. Philippines 4; Myanmar 1 vs. Malaysia 1

Sep 4: Rest Day

Sep 5: Semi Finals - Singapore 2 vs Myanmar 1 * Thailand 7 vs Malaysia 0

Sep 6: Rest Day

Sep 7 Finals - Thailand 3 vs Singapore 0

FIFA TOP TEN

Rank/Team/Points

1. Brazil - 837

2. Argentina - 782

3. Netherlands - 780

4. Czech Republic - 777

5. Mexico - 770

6. USA - 768

7. England - 743

8. Spain - 739

9. France - 737

9. Portugal - 737