BANGKOK (19 Jan 2012) – Two defeats from two matches have left hosts Thailand without the chance of winning this year’s 41st King’s Cup – currently being played at the Rajamangala Stadium in the Thai capital.
After conceding a heart-wrenching 3-2 loss to South Korea Under-23 in the first game, the Thais went on to fall 1-0 last night to Norway. Without a single point from two matches, Thailand will wrap up their campaign with a match against Denmark in two days.
“We played better than in the South Korea match. We had chances but could not score,” said Thailand chief coach Winfried Schaefer after the match.
“We conceded the goal from a free-kick. I had told my players to be careful about free-kicks but this still happened.”
Despite making several changes to the side which played against the Koreans, the hosts just lacked the bite to win their first three points in the competition despite several attempts from Teerathep Winothai and Teerasil Dangda.
And seven minutes to the end, Tore Reginiussen tore Thai’s heart with a shot from close range to give Norway, a fighting chance for the crown this year.
In the meantime, South Korea lead the standings in the 41st King’s Cup after holding defending champions Denmark to a scoreless draw in the other game of the day.
Following their 3-1 win over Thailand in their first game, the South Koreans have now picked up four points from two matches, the same with Norway although the latter are placed second on inferior goal difference.
Demark are third on two points from two draws while Thailand are fourth.
In the last round of matches of the four-team round-robin event on Saturday, South Korea only needed a draw against Norway to lift the title while Denmark must comprehensively beat hosts Thailand should they wish to defend their crown.
PIX: Thailand’s Sarawut Masuk (in all yellow kit) against Lars Vilsvik of Norway (in red/white kit). PHOTO BY PAWAT LAOPAISARNTAKSIN
