Beware Thailand's Mui and Tang

Sarach and Teerasil loom large as Lions prepare for ultimate test

Sports Correspondent

Nov 22, 2016 06:00 am

The Lions will do well to watch out for "Mui" and "Tang" today.

Those are the nicknames of Thailand's danger duo, striker Teerasil Dangda and midfield schemer Sarach Yooyen.

Ahead of Singapore's AFF Suzuki Cup Group A clash with the War Elephants at the Philippine Sports Stadium, Lions coach V Sundramoorthy knows the score.

He told The New Paper: "Sarach is a good ball player, with an eye for the killer pass.

"He also keeps possession really well.

"As for Teerasil, I don't really have to say much about him, we all know him very well.

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"He knows how to score. What else do you need in a striker?"

Whether the Dazzler and his charges can shackle the duo, however, is another matter altogether.

Teerasil, 28, is on fire, having scored five goals over the last seven days.

After netting twice in Thailand's 2-2 draw with Australia in a World Cup qualifier last Tuesday, he opened his Suzuki Cup account with a hat-trick against Indonesia four days later.

The three goals took his tally in the competition to 12, just five behind all-time top scorer, Singapore's Noh Alam Shah.

Sarach, 24, was also impressive against Indonesia, bossing the midfield and making key contributions at both ends.

Despite his small stature, the 1.68m-tall Sarach seemed to come out on top in every tackle and chipped in with two assists - both for Teerasil.

Singapore's players know how strong the Thais are, but are confident of keeping them quiet.

Rookie midfielder M Anumanthan, who had a solid Suzuki Cup debut in the draw with the Philippines on Saturday, is relishing the task of taking on Sarach and Co.

"It will be my first time playing Thailand, so I'm really excited and I'm raring to go," said the 22-year-old, whose role is to shield the back four.

"We want to show we are not pushovers and we will go out there with belief, and fight.

"We are not afraid of them."

Centre back Madhu Mohana, who is likely to keep his place at the heart of defence alongside the evergreen Daniel Bennett, is also up for the challenge of keeping Teerasil quiet.

"We know what they are capable of," said the 25-year-old.

"They're fast and always moving, so we have to stay compact.

"As for Teerasil, he's a good player and we respect him.

"But he has two arms and two legs, just like us.

"And if we have to kick him, we'll kick him."

WHAT THE THAI MEDIA SAY

Supachok Umaklat

FourFourTwo Thailand:

"We respect Singapore, especially after they managed to defend against Philippines with just 10 men. It will be harder to score against them than against Indonesia, but we have many players who are able to score, and we are confident we can do it."

Naddanai Lertchaiyalit

MThai.com:

"We are confident of the win, but we know it will not be easy. The Thai team are much smaller and shorter than Singapore, so maybe in some areas we will be at a disadvantage. But everyone can score."

FACTFILE