Sacking of coach works for Thailand as they beat Bahrain

In terms of ideal preparation for a group game at the Asian Cup, sacking the manager after a poor 90 minutes, barely 48 hours before your second, must-win, match would not be at the top of most people’s lists.
But, bizarrely, that is what worked for Thailand who having axed Milovan Rajevac after their opening 4-1 loss to India registered only their second ever win at the Asian Cup with a 1-0 victory over Bahrain.
Blond talisman Chanathip “Messi Jay” Songkrasin was the hero for the War Elephants — the Consadole Sapporo midfielder’s second-half strike enough to get the points and reignite their campaign.
Early on it seemed as if only one result was possible with Thailand having no shots on target as Bahrain controlled the first half. Mohamed Jasim Marhoon and Sayed Dhiya Saeed came closest to firing the Gulf side in front as they forced goalkeeper Chatchai Bootprom into a sharp double save.
It was a miss they would end up regretting as bleach-blond Chanathip, whose fans compare him to Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi, put the Thais in the driving seat near the hour-mark with a superbly struck first-time shot that rocketed past Sayed Shubbar Alawi in the Bahrain goal.
Chatchai then saved brilliantly from Ali Jaafar Madan’s snap-shot as Bahrain hunted for the equalizer, while Adisak Kraisorn, fed by Chanathip, belted one off the post at the other end.