Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Nay Pyi Taw: Hat-trick hero Pattipan Pinsermsootsri almost single-handedly hauled Thailand into the AFC U-19 Championship quarter-finals as Group A champions, as the first-half substitute scored all three goals in his side's see-saw 3-2 win that eliminated Yemen from the tournament on Monday.
Khaled Mahdi got Yemen off to the most explosive of starts with a spectacular opener inside the first minute only to see first-half substitute Pattipan equalise five minutes before the break.
And with Gehad Mohammed then putting the West Asians back in front as the clock ticked down, Thailand's hopes of further participation in the tournament looked to be dwindling.
But Pattipan's part to play was not yet finished and in extraordinary scenes he scored twice more in the final five minutes to pull his side back from the brink and into the knockout stages of the tournament at the expense of their opponents.
And although hosts Myanmar were defeated 2-0 by already eliminated Iran in Yangon, they scraped through into the knockout stages as Group A runners-up by the narrowest of margins, ahead of Yemen by just one goal more of goal difference.
"I asked my players to play this game like it was the last game of their life. If they lost this game then it's over; we go home - so I am delighted with the amazing comeback," said Thailand coach Sasom Pobprasert, whose side will face the runners-up in Group B on Friday.
"I tried to put all of my power and spirit into the mentality of the players, I told them if you think you can do it, you can achieve it."
With Thailand needing to take all three points in the match it could not have begun in worse fashion for them, as the game had barely kicked off when Mahdi caught the Southeast Asians napping with a scintillating 25-yard effort that billowed the net after careening past Rattanai Songsangchan.
Kullachat Jeentanorm then responded shortly after the quarter-hour mark with a speculative 30-yard free-kick that was on target and required an alert Yaser Thawab to tip over in the Yemen goal.
A draw for Thailand, let alone a defeat, would mean curtains for their AFC U-19 Championship campaign, and so Sasom's side attacked with renewed vigour as Yemen, as they had against Iran in their previous tie, sat back following their early breakthrough.
But on 40 minutes, Thailand drew level as Kullachat's left wing cross evaded both attackers and defenders until it reached substitute Pattipan, who had only been on the pitch for three minutes, to strike the ball past Thawab from his position at the back post and give the young War Elephants a glimmer of hope going into the break.
And the second half saw Thailand push forward in numbers in search of a crucial second, but disaster came their way as hesitation in their defence saw Yemen substitute Mohammed rob a dawdling Worawut Namvech of the ball, and surge into the penalty area before calmly clipping past Rattanai to put the West Asians back in front.
With time running out for Thailand they needed a minor miracle, and Pattipan began a sensational comeback on 85 minutes by latching onto a right-wing cross to finish as coolly as he had in the first-half to level the scores.
Thailand's inferior head-to-head record with Myanmar, though, meant a draw was still not enough, but stunningly Pattipan was once more in the right place just three minutes later to pounce inside the six-yard box as Thawab could only palm out Nopphon Phonkam's shot to – improbably – take his side into the quarter-finals and send Yemen out instead.
"It was a tough match tonight and we lost this match to individual mistakes," said Yemen coach Ahmed Qasem.
"Maybe the players were thinking a bit about the game in Yangon instead of having full concentration here. We missed out on the knockout stages by just one goal, so it's tough to take."