Defending champions Thailand outlasted Indonesia in a dramatic penalty shootout to claim the final of the Tiger Cup on Sunday despite playing most of the match with just 10 men.
A supremely confident chip penalty kick down the middle by Thailand's Dusit Chalermsan sealed the shootout after the 90 minutes of regulation play and 30 minutes of extra time finished with the scores tied at 2-2.
PHOTO: AFP
The Indonesians were left devastated after squandering countless opportunities in front of a capacity home crowd of 100,000 supporters at Gelora Bung Karno stadium.
Indonesia dominated for most of the latter stages of the match as Thailand showed signs of exhaustion after losing Chukiat Nodsalung to a red card 10 minutes into the second half.
However the Indonesians were unable to convert their dominance into goals, squandering two relatively easy chances during extra time thanks to some some superb work from Thai goalkeeper Kittisak Rawangpa.
The Thai team got off to a great start to the match when Chukiat headed a goal off a free kick from midfielder Therdsak Chaiman.
The goal, at the 28th minute, dampened the Indonesian's spirit and the Thais quickly took advantage with Therssak taking a header from ace striker Worawoot Sirimaka and scoring his team's second goal in the 35th minute.
However the spirit of the Indonesian team resurged in the second half after midfielder Yaris Riadi took a pass from Imran Nahumaruly to find the net and bring the scoreline back to 1-2.
Shortly after, referee Sukirin Saleh sent Chukiat off, signalling a rise in intensity from both sides that resulted in a yellow card to Indonesian striker Gendut Doni Christiawan.
The game heated up further with two more yellow cards issued to Indonesian players.
Ace Indonesian striker Gendut Doni Christiawan eventually levelled the match at 2-2 with a sharp shot from a ball relayed once again by Nahumaruly, to the estatic cheers of the home crowd.
But they were unable to find the back of the net and ultimately succumbed to the pressure of the penalty shootout.
Despite the disappointment for the massive crowd, there were no reports of violent incidents immediately after the match.
Earlier in the day, Vietnam took third place in the tournament after beating Malaysia 2-1.
Vietnamese midfielder Tran Truong Giang scored the first goal in the 44th minute after linking up with skipper Le Huynh Duc.
The first half also saw Indonesian referee Mohamad Setiono issue the game's first yellow card to Malaysian captain Tengku Hazman Raja Hassan after an undisciplined tackle against midfielder Nguyen Duc Thang.
Malaysia's levelled the match 10 minutes into the second half when Indra Putra Machyuddin took advantage in front of the Vietnamese goal following a free kick.
Vietnamese captain Le then helped get his team back on top by leading a rapid attack for midfielder Nguyen Minh Phuong to score in the 60th minute.
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