Host Indonesia routs Maldives 5-0<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Host Indonesia proved it was too mighty for the
\nMaldives by whitewashing the visitors 5-0 in the 2002 World Cup
\nAsia zone Group Nine qualifying match at the Bung Karno stadium
\nin Senayan complex on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Indonesia played aggressively, despite its players poor
\nstamina.<\/p>\n
Maldives only managed a counter attack just seven minutes into
\nthe first half after Indonesian midfielder Agung Setyabudi shot a
\nfree kick which was aided by a deflection from Maldives' Hussain
\nLuthfee.<\/p>\n
National top striker Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto received a cross
\nfrom compatriot Bambang Pamungkas and directly fired home six
\nminutes later for a 2-0 lead.<\/p>\n
Both Indonesian strikers were forced to play in high rhythm
\nafter receiving long passes from other teammates. Kurniawan and
\nBambang apparently were not ready for this kind of game and
\nspoiled many goal chances.<\/p>\n
Indonesia did not take a long time to get on the scorecard
\nafter the pause, with a penalty awarded after Ismed Sofyan was
\ntackled by Mohamed Jameel, who received a yellow card for his
\naction.<\/p>\n
Captain Bima Sakti successfully executed his task to make the
\ntally 3-0 in the 51st minute.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's Uston Nawawi was booked by referee S. Nagaling of
\nSingapore after colliding with Maldives defender. But he managed
\nto redeem his foul only minutes later by scoring the fourth goal
\non the 61st minutes after linking up with Kurniawan, who was
\nreplaced by Budi Sudarsono shortly after that.<\/p>\n
Bambang sealed Indonesia's 5-0 victory with a header three
\nminutes later.<\/p>\n
Debutante Budi had two more chances before the match ended but
\nhe only saw his pass went wide of the goal.<\/p>\n
Maldives attempted to close the gap on a few occasions but
\nwere continuously thwarted by Indonesia's solid defense.<\/p>\n
"My players were chicken," said Maldives coach Josef Jankech
\nwith a smile after the match.<\/p>\n
He admitted that Indonesia played much better than his team,
\nwhich blanked Cambodia 6-0 in the qualification earlier this
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
"We made too many individual mistakes and my players' skills
\nwere technically below the Indonesians. Indonesia played better
\nin every line and I think it was a very fair match," he said.<\/p>\n
Benny pointed out that his strikers were not ready to play in
\nhigh tempo. He also blamed the hot weather which wore out the
\nplayers.<\/p>\n
"The players were too fast in passing the ball to the front
\nline and consequently Kurniawan's stamina dropped after the first
\n30 minutes.<\/p>\n
"The midfielders should quickly anticipate the passes but,
\nmaybe due to the hot weather, they failed to cover the center
\nfield and only saw the ball return to their pitch. My players
\nwere not accustomed to this kind of play.<\/p>\n
Benny also criticized his own players, saying they only relied
\non counter attacks.<\/p>\n
"We have a basic problem that the players always wait for the
\ncoming ball when they should initiate the attack. The same thing
\nhappened when they were attacked. They only stuck to the ball and
\ndidn't even look at their rival's movements."<\/p>\n
Indonesia will play Cambodia on April 22 and China on May 27
\nat home. The national team will fly to Phnom Penh to play
\nCambodia on April 29 and to China on May 13. (ivy)<\/p>",
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