BANGKOK, 25 December 2007 — A bizarre own goal seven minutes from time by Iraq’s Ahmad Abid gave Thailand a 2-1 victory yesterday and a place in the final of the King’s Cup tournament.
With the score locked at 1-1, Abid tried to clear a powerful low cross from Narongchai Vachiraban with a spectacular diving header but found his own net instead, handing the Thais a place in the final with one round-robin game remaining.
The hosts took the lead on 43 minutes when in-form striker Surayuth Chaikamdee broke free on the right and floated an inch-perfect cross on to the head of the onrushing Nattaporn Phanrit, who buried the ball in the roof of the net.
Iraq came back fighting in the second half and took just five minutes to find the equalizer when forward Mubarak Almas brought down a looping cross and beat the Thai keeper from close range.
In the earlier game, Kim Kum-il scored an 87th-minute equalizer to earn North Korea a 2-2 draw with Asian Cup quarterfinalists Uzbekistan.
The Koreans went ahead just before the break through An Chol-hyok but that lead vanished in the 53rd minute when Pavel Solomin levelled the score.
Timur Yafarov put the Uzbeks in front 12 minutes later before the Koreans clawed their way back into the match to share the points with one match remaining.
Thai coach Charnwit Polcheewin said luck had been on his side but that his team were also the deserved winners.
“This is football, if you cross the ball that hard, it’s like a shot and sometimes they go in,” Charnwit told reporters. “We made a mistake too, it cost us a goal, so it was a fair outcome.” Thailand lead the four-team tournament with six points, followed by Iraq on three, with North Korea and Uzbekistan on a point each.
Colo Colo Win Fourth
Successive Chilean Title
In Santiago, Colo Colo won the Chilean championship for the fourth time in a row on Sunday, beating rank outsiders Universidad de Concepcion 3-0 in the second leg of the final.
The Chieftains completed a 4-0 aggregate win in the Clausura tournament final to win their 27th domestic title, more than double the number won by the country’s second most successful side, Universidad de Chile.
Two separate championships are played every year in Chile — the Apertura and Clausura. Colo Colo won both competitions this year and last, all under coach Claudio Borghi. Gonzalo Fierro opened the scoring with an angled shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 27th minute.
Uruguayan Gustavo Biscayzacu added the second in the 87th minute when he beat the offside trap and rounded goalkeeper Federico Elduayen to score. Claudio Bieler completed the scoring in three minutes later.
