Thailand had to depend on a penalty shootout to get the better of hosts Cambodia in the semifinal of the AFF U-22 Championship at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh after the match finished goalless after extra time.
The match started brightly with the War Elephants seeing much of the ball early on and keeping the hosts quiet. However, riding on the home support, Cambodia came back into the match and threatened the Thailand goal on multiple occasions.
Counter-attacking with aplomb, Cambodia came close to opening the scoring in the first half through Narong Kakada and Brak Thiva while for the War Elephants, Tanplsit Khukhalamo hit the woodwork in the 34th minute.
Sath Rosib was especially threatening with his set-piece deliveries but other than hitting the woodwork once more in the second half, both the sides couldn’t produce much with the attacking point of view and the match went into extra time.
The extra time was more about who hits the woodwork more as both the sides combined to hit the post thrice in the final 30 minutes of the match and take the encounter into the penalty shootout.
The shootout was a rather straightforward affair for the War Elephants as they converted all five of their spot-kicks while Cambodia missed one through Sin Kakada. Ultimately, Thailand walked out as winners with a 3-5 scoreline in penalty shootouts and earned the opportunity to face Indonesia in the final. Fox Sport Asia
