Bangkok: Thailand head coach Milovan Rajevac hailed the influence of young striker Supachai Jaided after the 19-year-old put in a man-of-the-match performance as the War Elephants beat Singapore 3-0 to advance to the semi-final of the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup.

Supachai struck Thailand’s second goal and his third strike of the tournament and Rajevac is delighted to see a striking talent coming through. The Thai League scoring charts tend to be dominated by foreign strikers so the emergence of the Buriram United youngster is very welcome.

“It’s a great thing to have such a young player with such a big talent, especially with the ability to score goals because we know that in Thailand, most of the players in striking positions are foreigners,” said Rajevac.

“It’s very important to have domestic players and produce the players who are able to score. Arm (Supachai) is really doing a great job and has a very bright future ahead of him.”

Rajevac was pleased with the discipline shown by his players at the Rajamangala Stadium and the fact that they withstood a tough physical challenge from their opponents. 

“I am satisfied with the result and the fact that we have qualified for the semi-finals,” he said. “Singapore were fighting and trying so hard but we got what we wanted from this match and played exactly how we wanted. I want to congratulate my players for the performance and also to congratulate Singapore for a very fair match.

“We were very aware of how Singapore were supposed to play and we prepared our players. I think that they responded well and had the match under control throughout the game.”

The Thais now face Malaysia in the last four and this will involve a first leg at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, where over 80,000 passionate home fans are likely to be in attendance. But Rajevac played down any concerns that the atmosphere might intimidate his players. 

“It is not a concern at all because professional players have to be able to put in a good performance whether they are playing in front of 100,000 people or just a few hundred people,” said Rajevac.

“We are playing two matches and if we prepare well and perform as we plan, everything should be fine for us.”