BANGKOK, Thailand, 13 July 2007 — Fears that were initially held about the competitiveness of the host nations in this Asian Cup were forgotten yesterday when Vietnam and Thailand both put one foot in the quarterfinals with impressive results.
Thailand beat Oman 2-0 in Group A to post its first ever win in regulation time at the Asian Cup, at its 17th attempt, while Vietnam clung on for a 1-1 draw with Qatar in Group B.
Those results left both teams on four points from two games and within touching distance of the quarterfinals. It also set up two exciting matches that will determine those groups in the final round-robin matches, with hosts Thailand and Vietnam entertaining tournament favorites Australia and Japan respectively.
Oman, with one point from two games, now needs to beat Iraq in its final group game and rely on other results in order to qualify for the quarterfinals, while Qatar will likely need to beat the United Arab Emirates in its last group game in order to progress.
Two inspired substitutions vaulted Thailand to victory over Oman.
Thailand coach Chanvit Polchovin can take much of the credit for swinging the game in the second half with the introduction of forward Pipat Tonkanya and Teerathep Winothai.
The breakthrough came in the 69th minute when Teerathep ran onto a clever throughball played down the right flank and sent a precise cross to the back post where unmarked Pipat stabbed the ball home from close range.
The second goal came in the 77th minute. Teerathep did well to leap for a flick-on header into the path of Pipat, who slotted home a 12-yard shot to seal the result.
“Four points means that we have a good chance now. But we cannot decide anything until the last match is completed,” said Thailand coach Chanvit Polchovin, who was tearful in the post-match press conference, overwhelmed at his team’s achievement.
“It has sparked hope and regained the team’s confidence.” Oman, having impressed in a 1-1 draw against tournament favorite Australia in its opening fixture, was very disappointing, rarely threatening the Thai goal.
Oman’s Argentine coach Gabriel Calderon admitted his side did not play well, but retained hope.
“You have to know that my players had one month’s training, so they could not get good physical condition. Physically, Thailand is better than Oman,” Calderon said. “We have three finals. We drew the first, lost the second, but still have a third match.”
In Hanoi, Vietnam was arguably lucky to draw 1-1 with Qatar, but little can be taken away from its achievement in gathering four points from two games given that it had not even qualified for this tournament since 1960.
Vietnam went ahead in the 32nd minute. Phan Than Binh trapped the ball and beat an opponent in one impressive motion, and let fly a speculative shot from 20 meters.
While it was well hit, it looked an easy save for any international goalkeeper. However Qatar custodian Mohamed Saqr somehow allowed the ball to slip under his body and dribble over the line.
Both sides had chances to change the scoreline late in the first half, and the 40,000 crowd at the My Dinh Stadium was satisfied with the lead.
Qatar displayed greater attacking intent in the second half and was rewarded with an equalizer in the 78th minute when a deflected shot spooned up to the back post where Sebastian Quintana was on hand to head home past helpless Vietnam keeper Duong Hong Son.
Further gilt-edged opportunities presented themselves for Qatar, with one shot hitting the underside of the bar and bouncing the wrong side of the line in the 82nd minute and three more shots going narrowly wide in the closing minutes.
