East Bengal will meet BEC in ASEAN's LG Cup final<\/p>\n
Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia's hopes for a representative in the final of the
\ninaugural ASEAN Club Championship were shattered as Petrokimia
\nPutra bowed out after a gripping penalty shootout (8-7) to East
\nBengal of India in the semifinal match here on Thursday.<\/p>\n
East Bengal will face BEC Tero Sasana of Thailand in the final
\nmatch on Saturday. BEC came from behind to beat Perak FC of
\nMalaysia 3-1 in the other semifinal match later in the day.<\/p>\n
Frank Seator opened the scoring for the Malaysians before the
\nThais fought back with three goals from Anuchai Kitpongsari,
\nTerdsak Chaiman and Jatipong Thongsuk.<\/p>\n
Around 7,000 spectators showed up at the Bung Karno stadium in
\nCentral Jakarta, and were disappointed to see Petro lose to the
\nIndians who had dispatched the other local team -- Persita
\nTangerang -- en route to Thursday's game.<\/p>\n
Petro, from Gresik, East Java, could not take advantage of
\nEast Bengal with a man down after Mahesh Gawli was given he
\nsecond yellow card three minutes before the end of regulation.<\/p>\n
The match ended 1-1 after full time. Jainal Ichwan gave Petro
\na 1-0 first-half lead before Bhaicung Bhutia equalized in the
\nsecond half for his seventh goal of the tournament.<\/p>\n
After the two 15-minute extra periods, the game did not
\nchange, and went to a penalty shootout, which also went to the
\nsecond phase after all 10 players found the back of the net in
\nthe first phase. East Bengal managed to finally outscore Petro 7-
\n6 in the penalties.<\/p>\n
Petro's coach Alexander Sikov showed a brave face despite the
\ndefeat, saying that East Bengal played well while his players,
\nparticularly on defense, fared poorly.<\/p>\n
\"They (East Bengal) played very good football. Our players
\nkept making mistakes, especially on defense, like they did during
\nthe league season. That's why we're struggling in the league,\"
\nSikov said.<\/p>\n
\"Basically the players gave their best. Losing on a penalty
\nshootout is like losing a lottery,\" he added.<\/p>\n
While the host side tried to deal with it after the game,
\nSubash Bhowmick's men broke into elation, some hugging each other
\nin jubilation.<\/p>\n
Bhowmick said his team should have sealed the win, without
\nhaving to go to extra time and penalty shootout.<\/p>\n
\"We should have scored at least four goals. I'm very
\ndisappointed with my players because we could not end the game
\nsooner,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Indian champion East Bengal started the game with
\nconfidence, taking the early initiative by dominating the
\nmidfield thanks to Brazilian Douglas Silva dos Santos'
\noutstanding performance.<\/p>\n
The Brazilian inspired his team's attack with a consistent
\nball supply to the front line where the tournament's top scorer
\nBhaicung Bhutia was running rampant.<\/p>\n
However, it was Petro which made best of its only chance.
\nJainal Ichwan's 35-yard free kick ricocheted through the wall of
\nEast Bengal players and found the net.<\/p>\n
East Bengal increased pressure but the equalizer came just 15
\nminutes into the second half with Bhutia capitalizing on a
\ndefensive error.<\/p>\n
East Bengal was reduced to ten men as Gawli exited in the 87th
\nminute after he was called for delay of game when he deliberately
\nkicking a dead ball away.<\/p>\n
The Indians managed to hang on in the extra times. During the
\npenalty shootout, East Bengal had only Suhly Tluanga's miss when
\nhe put the ball over the bar, while Petro had to rue the missed
\nchances by captain Sasi Kirono, whose ball sailed over the bar,
\nand Dwi Joko, whose ball went straight into the goalkeeper's
\narms.<\/p>",
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