Malaysia v Laos
Malaysia staged a late show in the opening game of Group B of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 to beat Laos 3-0 at the Surakul Stadium. Following a first half deadlock, substitute Mohd Safee Sali nailed a brace with goals in the 68th and 90th minute as Indra Putra Mahayuddin scored the other goal in the 72nd minute for the win.
The heavy rain just before the start of the match affected the quality of the pitch as both teams struggled to maintain possession and make the clean passes in slippery conditions. It was Malaysia who dictated the early pace with Shukor Adan and Mohd Hardi Jaafar stoking the engine room for the strike pair of Hairuddin Omar and Indra Putra Mahayuddin.
But in spite of the early effort, Malaysia just can't seem to break through the Laotian defence which defended in numbers. The best that they could muster in the opening half was two freekicks which came frustratingly close off Hardi and Indra Putra Mahyuddin.
Malaysia then made several changes after the break when they brought on Zaquan Adha Abdul Razak for Mohd Hardi Jaafar and Mohd Safee Sali for Mohd Amirulhadi Zainal. That change the rhythm of the game as Malaysia pushed forward and in the 68th minute, they finally broke the deadlock when Safee blasted in a corner from Indra. Four minutes later, Malaysia went 2-0 off a freekick from Indra who slammed home to the right of the Laos goal. Safee then wrapped up the night with the third goal deep in injury time.
Thailand v Vietnam
Two goals in the first half was enough for hosts Thailand to see off Vietnam when they scored a 2-0 win in the second game of Group B of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 here at the Surakul Stadium. The Thais, playing in their first competitive tournament under head coach Peter Reid, blasted in the lead on 34th minute from Sutee Suksomkit before Suchao Nutnum added the second in the 45th minute.
Spurred by an almost full attendance, the Thais started the match confidently and although the knock on midfielder Datsakorn Thonglao has now caused a worry on his continued participation for the next match. But with Thailand clearly winning the midfield battle, the constant pressure on Vietnam caused them to make several mistakes. And add to the slippery conditions, tempers flared in the opening half as referee Abdul Malik Basir flashed out several cautions.
In the 34th minute, the Thais finally went in front when Sutee curled a freekick past a Vietnam wall to push the fans to their feet. With seconds remaining to the break, Thailand nailed their second goal when Sutee capitalized on goalkeeper mistake to put the Thais comfortably in front. Vietnam made a flurry of changes in the second half but that did little to change the result as Thailand just sat back all the way to the finish line.
Next Fixtures;
7/12/08 - Group A
17:00 : Singapore v Myanmar
19:90 : Cambodia v Indonesia
8/12/08 - Group B
17:00 : Malaysia v Vietnam
19.30 : Laos v Thailand
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