Thais bank on defence

[SOCCER] After his side stumbled to a draw against Malaysia, Thailand's Under-23 team coach Prayong Kunnen has decided to use the 5-4-1 formation to cope with the threat posed by hosts Vietnam in their crucial match in the Hanoi Cup today.
After the first round of the three-nation friendly tournament, the Vietnamese side, consisting mostly of their senior players, top the table following a 4-0 mauling of Malaysia. That means the Kingdom, who are in second spot with one point, need to defeat the hosts to claim the title. With the top honour at stake, Prayong is taking a cautious approach by reverting from the usual 4-4-2 to the 5-4-1 system. "We have to change our formation because when the Vietnamese attack they will transform to 4-2-4, so we need to have a double defensive wall on both sides at the back," said Prayong. "However, the system is not useful only in defending, as we will have fluidity on both flanks when we are in attacking mode. The lads used to play with this formation in friendly matches before. With this tactic, I think we can handle the challenge from the Vietnamese and at least we should get a draw, even though we are looking for a win." Prayong will make only one change to the side which failed to convert their dominance into goals against Malaysia, with burly Tanongsak Promdad taking up the role as the lone striker. The prize money for the winners is US$10,000 (Bt374,000) while the runners-up and the third-placed team take home $5,000 and $3,000, respectively.
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