It was a case of same old story for the Thai National team despite playing their first international match up at the swanky new I-Mobile stadium in Buriram. A number of missed chances, including a late penalty by Suchao Nutnum that hit the woodwork, mean Thailand now hold a slender 1-0 advantage over Palestine ahead of the second leg. That match is set to take place in the West Bank on Thursday and the Thais will face the added disadvantage of having to play on an artificial pitch.

Things looked more promising when Thailand found the net as early as the 19th minute courtesy of a deflected strike by Jakkraphan Buathong. But, despite bossing the play and having a number of decent chances they failed to build a more substantial lead. On the positive side the national team can take heart from their dominance and the fact that the U21 Olympic team managed to get through a similar away fixture (albeit on penalties) against Palestine earlier this year.

Meanwhile, down in Bangkok on Sunday the Chelsea mega stars easily beat’s Thailand All Stars in the Coke Super Cup. As expected the Blues didn’t really have to exert themselves too much and ended up cruising to a 4-0 win courtesy of goals by Frank Lampard, Jose Boswinga, Branislav Ivanovic and Flourent Malouda. Having finished this leg of their PR mission Chelsea now jet off to Hong Kong.