As Uzbekistan edged Japan 6-5 in a penalty shoot-out following a 2-2 stalemate in regulation time in the final of the M-150 Cup U23 tournament on Friday night, Thailand coach Zoran Jankovic rued the absence of a surefire scorer.
Jankovic, a former Bulgaria striker who recently took over the reins of the Thai U23 squad, said he was particularly worried about his team's offence and was keen to improve their scoring prowess before next month's AFC U23 Championship in China.
Commenting after Thailand's 2-1 loss to Vietnam in the third-place play-off on Friday afternoon, Jankovic said: "I wanted to use players who didn't get a chance in our two group stage matches.
"However, we conceded two goals in the first half, so I had to change the plan.
"We took charge in the second half and controlled the game. We had several chances to score goals but we didn't avail them and that's is the reason we lost to Vietnam.
"I am pleased with the team's overall performance, and it is good that we have spotted our mistakes and shortcomings that need improvement before the Asian tournament. The most important thing is to turn our forwards into scorers."
He also praised his players for their efforts during the tournament at Buriram United's I-Mobile Stadium.
"Our victory over Japan [in the group stage] made the team look very confident but in our last two matches we committed mistakes," said Jankovic.
"They played according to the plan but in football you get punished for the mistakes you commit.
"Every player made an effort to achieve their target of winning the tournament. For me, our real goal was to test the players before the Asian Championship in China.
"This team was missing a number of main players and I think their return would give us more flexibility in our tactics and our performance should improve as well.
"We did not play so badly but, as I said, we do have problems in converting our chances. If we can have the full team back, it would be much better."
Meanwhile, both Uzbekistan and Japan put on an attacking show in the title match of the inaugural tournament.
Japan made it to the final after edging Thailand on goal difference in Group A, while Uzbekistan topped Group B standings ahead of Vietnam.
In the drama-filled dying moments of the first half, Uzbekistan went ahead when Urinboev Zabikhillo fired home from within a few yards of the goalmouth.
The Japanese shot back immediately and a spectacular free kick by Yuta Kamiya helped them pull level shortly before the referee signalled the end of the entertaining first half.
Zabikhillo was on target again for Uzbekistan during the last 15 minutes of the game with a nifty header.
The Blue Samurai equalised for the second time through a Ren Komatsu header two minutes from time to force a penalty shoot-out which Uzbekistan won 6-5 to claim the US$20,000 top purse.
The event was organised to give national teams, which have qualified for next month's AFC U23 Championship, a tune-up for the tournament in China where Thailand will again face Japan and North Korea.
The Thais lost to North Korea 1-0 in their second Group A match.