Thailand, Vietnam continue dream run in Asian Cup

Pipat Thonkanya struck a brace as Thailand upstaged mighty Oman 2-0, while a gritty Vietnam forced a 1-1 draw against formidable Qatar to maintain their dream run in the Asian Cup football tournament. Thanks to their splendid show in the tournament so far, both Vietnam and Thailand top their group and their quarterfinal hopes look quite bright. Pipat was the star performer in Thailand’s match against Oman in which the hosts pulled the rug from under the feet of Oman. Pipat struck twice in a space of eight minutes and the Thai defence did a smart job by protecting the lead for the remainder of the match. Vietnam, on the other hand, almost walked away with a win before Sebastian Soria scored the late equalizer for Qatar. Vietnam’s star striker Phan Thanh Binh had put his side ahead scoring with a long ranger in the 32nd minute. It was, however, Qatar which played better football but just failed to find the goal. Vietnam coach Alfred Reidl admitted his team was lucky to escape with a draw. He said I think my team got a lucky result. Qatar were especially strong in the last 20 to 25 minutes. They created a lot of chances and we had some difficult situations. After the equalizer, Qatar unleashed waves of attacks but their forwards were a huge let down and they could not convert the chances that came their way.