War Elephants Win Battle

In the highly-anticipated AFF Suzuki Cup final showdown between Indonesia & Thailand; it was the War Elephants who made a mockery of the situation by romping to a 4-0 victory in the first leg; thus rendering the second leg an almost meaningless occasion.

Right form the start; you could see the Thais were a class ahead; pressing the Indons in their own backyard and showing great teamwork and close skill to befuddle their ASEAN counterparts.

It was perhaps fitting that it was the 'Thai Messi' Chanathip Songkrasin who shone on this occasion; scoring two goals on the biggest stage; while his team-mates Supachok Sarachat & Philip Roller also impressed with their skill & all-out running.

It was perhaps also a warning to the rest of ASEAN that this was by no means Thailand's first-team; having made no less than 7 changes to the semi-final line-up that had ousted pre-tournament favorites & defending champions Vietnam in the semi-finals.

For Indonesia; a surprise package in this tournament and the dark horses with a young & exciting team; perhaps this final has come too early for them; as they were second best to their more illustrious counterparts in all areas; and looked overawed by the occasion.