Pinyo’s late equaliser helps Thailand hold Saudi Arabia

Inpinit Pinyo’s 84th minute equaliser salvaged a deserved point as Thailand claimed a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia in the teams’ Group B opener at the AFC U23 Championship at Grand Hamad Stadium yesterday.Mohammad al-Saiari scored for Saudi.Inpinit’s late strike cancelled out Mohammad al-Saiari’s 71st minute header while Kiatisuk Senamuang’s side also had goalkeeper Somporn Yos to thank after saving a penalty in the first half.Somporn pulled off a fine save in the 12th minute after referee Mohammad Abdulla Hassan had pointed to the spot following Adison Promrak’s foul on al-Saiari, only for Mustafa al-Bassas to see his attempt from 12 yards pushed onto the crossbar.The Thais, though, had more than enough opportunities to put themselves on the scoreboard, with Inpinit twice unable to find the back of the net in a five minute spell that also saw Thitiphan Puangjan shoot across the face of goal.Somporn was again on hand to rescue the Thais in the 27th minute when he somehow managed to move across his goal to keep out Fahad al-Muwallad’s close range effort after Mohamed Kanno’s low curling cross unlocked the South East Asian side’s defence.Pakorn Prempak should have done better with his attempt from the edge of the penalty area while at the other end Abdulmajeed al-Sulayhim turned the Thai defence only to fire over the bar.Chenrop Samphaodi missed the target with two more efforts in the opening half of the second period, and they were opportunities that the Thais were to rue spurning when al-Saiari headed home in the 71st minute to give the Saudis a barely deserved lead.But with just six minutes remaining, the Thais finally found the back of the net as Inpinit raced in on Ahmad al-Harbi’s goal before slotting his shot into the bottom corner to send the Thai fans delirious.