First-half goals by Thailand’s Tanat Jantaya and Sujarit Jantakun were enough to see off a spirited Pakistan U23 side 2-1 in the first of their four international friendlies at the National Stadium in Bangkok.
The hosts opened the scoring through Jantaya in the 15th minute but Pakistan’s perseverance saw them equalize just two minutes later through captain Jadeed Khan who was assisted by Bradford Park FC’s Irfan Khan.
Thailand went ahead again in the 18th through a Jantakun strike and sealed the game even with 72 minutes still to go.
It wasn’t that the Thai offensive all of a sudden lost its touch in this remaining period.
Rather Pakistan, led by its other Europe-based player, goalie Yousuf Butt, kept things tight at the back and blunted several attacking moves that Thailand made.
Butt also displayed leadership abilities in the second-half as he kept the defensive line from breaking and provided the much needed spark to the team.
According to a Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) official, the result was a very satisfactory one for the Greenshirts considering their last U23 outing against Thailand produced a 0-6 scoreline.
“Thailand are ranked 120th in the world, so it is definitely a positive result for Pakistan. They put on a brave performance at the National Stadium and it should provide a lot of inspiration for the upcoming matches,” PFF Secretary Ahmed Yar Khan Lodhi told Dawn.com.
According to the official Pakistan will play its remaining three friendlies on February 12, 15 and 18.
