Thailand reached the semifinal of the six-nation Bangabandhu Gold Cup International Football Tournament as the Group B champions eliminating Bahrain by 3-0 goals at the floodlit Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) here on Tuesday.Thailand will face Group-A runners-up Bangladesh in the second semifinal on Friday (February 6) at BNS while Group A champions Malaysia will meet Group B runners-up Singapore in the first semifinal on Thursday (Feb 5) at the Sylhet District Stadium (SDS). Host Bangladesh reached the semifinal eliminating all-loser Sri Lanka by a solitary goal at the BNS on Monday after losing to Malaysia 0-1 in the tournament opener on January 29 at SDS. The final match will be held on Sunday (February 8) at BNS. Earlier, Thailand assured the semifinal berth with one match to spare beating Singapore by 3-2 goals while Singapore kept their semifinal hope alive after playing a goalless draw with Bahrain on Sunday.In the day’s vital match, Thailand took lead in the 35th minute by a suicidal goal when a header of Bahrain defender Abdullah Ali entered his own net in trying to foil a free kick by Thai player Veerachart Chaowat (1-0)Bahrain conceded the 2nd goal from a penalty in the 53rd minute as their defender Ali Maharoofi brought down Thai forward Parmpak Pakorn in the danger zone. Pakorn converted the spot kick to double the Thai margin (2-0).In the 57th minute, Thai forward Pimkoon Jaturong scored the 3rd goal for Thailand by a placing shot after dodging past an opponent, off a through pass from medio Nimboon Narutchai (3-0). Later, Thai forward Parmpak Pakorn was adjudged man of the match.Earlier, in the 29th minute, Salman Abdullah of Bahrain pushed a through pass to forward Ali Hazza Ateeq Mobarak whose placing shot was saved by Thai goalie Yos Somporn at the cost of a corner.Bahrain came close to score in the 47th minute but Thai custodian Yos Somporn again saved his castle foiling a free kick by midfielder Ali Hazza Ateeq Mobarak. Thai midfielder Sensomaiad Adisak again took a rebound shot but the goalie Yos Somporn saved it again from the goal-line.
