Tien Thanh
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Surprise finish: Singapore defender Daniel Bennett tries to steal the ball from a Filipino striker during their AFF Cup match. The Philippines surprised many when they tied 1-1 with tournament favourites Singapore. — VNA/VNS Photo Quoc Khanh |
The first four matches in two groups finished unexpectedly in both scoring and what happened on the pitch.
The organisers and sponsors were delighted as thousands of football fans arrived at My Dinh stadium in Ha Noi and Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, after slow ticket sales for a few days.
In the first match of group A in Jakarta, the pre-tournament title favourites, Thailand, were lacklustre during the match and had to chase Laos throughout the second half and only managed an equaliser in the last seconds of an injury time for a shameful 2-2 draw.
This is the first draw Laos has had against Thailand for 35 years.
Contrary to popular opinion that it would be a tightly contested match, hosts Indonesia thrashed Malaysia with an unexpected score of 5-1, although the latter scored first.
The group B, which took place in Ha Noi, happened with an almost similar script but the group's semi-finalist contenders, Singapore and Viet Nam, did better than Thailand and Indonesia.
There were some regretful moments for Singapore, which controlled much of the match and had numerous chances, including one-on-one opportunities, but they only got one point after letting the Philippines equal the score in the last seconds of the stoppage time.
The Philippines deserved its first draw against Singapore at the AFF Cup for their determined effort.
Viet Nam's 7-1 massacre of Myanmar in the opener has been the most impressive and pleasant surprise.
Even Vietnamese coach Henrique Calisto, who was confident of a win for his team before the match, could not imagine his players could create such an outstanding display.
"The tournament started with many wonderful surprises when Laos and the Philippines got good results from stronger Thailand and Singapore. What happened on the pitch proved that Laos and the Philippines has showed real progress," said Tran Cong Minh, former national defender, who spoke to Viet Nam News by telephone.
"The Philippines showed that they are an organised team, not only on how to defend but how to attack. In my opinion, however, the skill level is not as good as Vietnamese players and if Viet Nam plays to its strength, a win is assured," said Minh, who was delighted with the performance from the host team.
Minh also said that after the first round Indonesia was emerging as a serious contender for the title, as they have a good team with many talented local and naturalised players.
Old hands
However, it is too soon to talk about any possibility of the further advancement of Laos and the Philippines when Laos will face Indonesia and Malaysia and the Philippines meet host Viet Nam and Myanmar next days.
Most experts, however, can see real progress from the team. In addition to investment in young football, it is helped by the expertise from foreign coaches, especially Austrian Alfred Riedl and Englishman David Booth.
Riedl, who worked as Viet Nam national team coach three times, is an old hand in Southeast Asia football.
Before taking charge of the Indonesian team, Riedl helped Laos finish in third at the Southeast Asia (SEA) Games last year for the first time.
Laos's current coach, David Booth, who also had experiences in regional football with working periods in Myanmar and Thailand, helped Laos continued the momentum it had gained from the SEA Games last year.
In spite of suffering a 1-1 draw in the opener against the underdogs the Philippines, Serbian coach Radojko Avramovic's Singaporean team had a good display and enough chances for a comfortable win.
The most noticeable new face in the dugout was Thailand's English coach Bryan Robson, but the region's most famous and arguably highest- paid coach had a poor start at his AFF Suzuki Cup campaign.
"Besides having extensive experience with regional football and understanding players, these coaches (Calisto, Riedl, Avramovic and Booth) are very serious about their work," Minh, who once worked as assitant for Calisto and Riedl, said.
"Thailand's bad start is partly due to the fact that they did not have a good preparation because some Thai players had just returned to the team after Thailand's Football Association Cup final. But I still believe they will bounce back in the next matches and qualify for the semi-finals." — VNS
