Group B: Thais through after late winner over M'sia
MALAYSIA 2
(Amri Yahyah 28, Safiq Rahim 61)
THAILAND 3
(Adisak Kraisorn 43, 90, Charyl Chappuis 72)
Adisak Kraisorn was Thailand's hero as the striker scored the late winner in their 3-2 triumph over Malaysia to secure their advancement to the Suzuki Cup semi-finals on Wednesday.
Inclement weather forced the match at the Jalan Besar Stadium to start more than two hours after its designated 5pm kick-off time.
While Thailand began the match as favourites, Malaysia drew first blood in the 28th minute when Amri Yahyah was afforded space to score a low drive from the edge of the Thai penalty box.
The War Elephants entered the break on even terms through Adisak, who squeezed through the Malaysian defence to poke home a low cross from Swiss-born midfielder Charyl Chappuis on 43 minutes.
Malaysia restored their lead in the 61st minute when Safiq Rahim danced past his markers to rifle a low shot into the bottom corner.
The lead lasted just 11 minutes when Chappuis was alert enough to run onto a square ball from Chanathip Songkrasin to power in the equaliser.
Just as it looked like the spoils would be shared, Adisak pounced on a Prakit Deeporm pass and lost his marker to score the winner in the final minute of regular time.
The victory secured passage to the semi-finals for the Thais regardless of their result against Myanmar on Saturday while Malaysia must beat Singapore in their final match to have any hope of joining the War Elephants in the final four.
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