time champion Thailand maintained its perfect record in the Southeast Asian championships with a 1-0 semifinal, first-leg win away to Indonesia on Tuesday. Thailand, who has been reinvigorated since the arrival of English coach Peter Reid in July, attacked from the start and silenced the raucous crowd after only five minutes when Teerasil Dangda's header looped into the top corner from 10 metres. It could have scored three more times inside the first 24 minutes, with playmaker Datsakorn Thonglao's neat free kick well saved by the Indonesian goalkeeper and striker Teerathep Winothai twice going close. Fullback Suree Sukha almost made it 2-0 after 39 minutes when his goal bound effort was cleared off the line. Datsakorn's lofted free kick then struck the bar soon after the break which was the first of his two clear second-half chances. Indonesia battled to equalize in the last five minutes but were kept at bay by the resolute Thais, who extended its winning run to four games having scored 12 goals with none conceded. “They're playing with pace, they're mixing it up and they have a desire to win,” Reid said of his team. “I'm disappointed we didn't convert our chances, we had so many, but other than that, the team has been excellent,” he said. AFC presses FIFA to lift ban on Kuwait Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohamed Bin Hammam has sent a letter to FIFA urging the temporary lifting of its international ban on Kuwait for political interference. Bin Hammam told the AFC's website (www.the-afc.com) he wanted the ban lifted to “protect the game and footballers in Kuwait” by giving the nine-time Gulf champion the chance to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup. The 1982 World Cup qualifier has been suspended twice in the last 15 months as a result of political meddling.
