ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup defending champions Thailand qualified for the final after beating Malaysia 3-0 in the second leg semi-final match at Thammasat Stadium in Bangkok tonight.

Thailand overcame the one-goal deficit they picked up during their 0-1 first leg defeat on January 7, outclassing the Malaysian team tonight to secure an overall 3-1 aggregate victory.

The Harimau Malaya team had started strong in their rival’s den, attacking strongly in the first 10 minutes, nearly dominating the match early on, only to see the home team grab the lead through a lovely header by Teerasil Dangda, who beat defenders Sharul Nazeem Zulpakar and Dominic Tan to slot in Thailand’s first goal off an eerily accurate cross from Thai captain Theerathon Bunmathan in the 19th minute.

The goal rattled the Malaysian team, and it seemed to affect their play as the match wore on.

The match continued to be a highly contested affair, with coaches from both teams, Thailand’s Alexandre Polking and Malaysia’s Kim Pan Gon being yellow carded by Jordanian referee Adham Mohammad Tumah Makhadmeh in the 29th minute.

Malaysia’s only attempt at Thailand’s goal came in the 36th minute from a header by Darren Lok off a cross from Mohd Nor Hakim Hassan that sailed right into the arms of Thai goalkeeper Kampon Phatomakkakul.

Malaysia was still very much in the game in the second half, as they looked for ways to equalise through the introduction of substitutes Lee Tuck and V. Ruventhiran.

But that was not enough to stem the tide, and the Malaysians were punished with an unmarked Bordin Phala scoring off a cross by Ekanit Panya in the 55th minute.

A third substitution in the 67th minute, which saw Malaysia’s Muhammad Safawi Rasid replacing Muhammad Fazly Mazlan, failed to stop Thailand from scoring their third and final goal of the match, as Adisak Kraisorn pounced on a loose ball to score in the 71st minute, a well-deserved reward for reacting first in the confusion following a shot that rebounded off the left lower corner of Malaysia’s goalpost just seconds earlier.

Thailand will now face Vietnam in the two-legged final on Friday and next Monday. – Bernama, January 10, 2023.