Indonesia goes to semis after routed Myanmar 5-0<\/p>\n
CHIANG MAI, Thailand (AP): Gendut Doni Christiawan and
\nKurniawan Dwi Yulianto scored two goals apiece as Indonesia
\nwhitewashed Myanmar 5-0 Sunday in its finest display of football
\nso far in the Tiger Cup tournament.<\/p>\n
Playing a 3-5-2 formation, the white-shirted Indonesians
\nseized the early initiative and went forward in search of the
\nvictory that takes them into the semifinals.<\/p>\n
\"It was a different Indonesia out there today,\" Myanmar coach
\nDavid Booth said after seeing his team demolished by a blistering
\nsecond-half performance.<\/p>\n
With the rumored sacking of head coach Nandar Iskandar,
\nIndonesia was widely expected to come out with a different
\nlineup. Caretaker coach Dananjaya left out Ismed Sofyan,
\nSugiantoro, Suwandi Siswoyo and I Putu Gede on the bench.<\/p>\n
They were replaced by Uston Nawawi, Budiman, Nur'Alim and Jet
\nDonald Laala.<\/p>\n
Indonesian team captain Aji Santoso said after the match that
\nNandar had decided to take a break until the end of the Cup. Aji,
\nhowever, did not say explicitly that the players were discontent
\nwith Nandar following a 1-4 defeat by Thailand.<\/p>\n
\"Dananjaya will take care of everything,\" Aji was quoted by
\nthe spokesman of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) Eddi
\nElison as saying.<\/p>\n
Gendut, voted man of the match, looked a possessed man as he
\ntore into the heart of the Myanmar defense in the early minutes
\nbut saw four spectacular attempts foiled or missing the goal
\nnarrowly.<\/p>\n
At the final whistle, Myanmar players dropped to their knees
\nand the Indonesians celebrated their progress to the last four.
\nTeam manager Mohammad Zein indicated later that the first goal
\nhad been the most critical.<\/p>\n
\"After that first goal, Myanmar had to come out to find an
\nequalizer. All they needed was a draw and they had to score. That
\nleft many holes at the back and we capitalized on it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Booth, the Myanmar coach, said the team paid for its
\ninexperience.<\/p>\n
Thailand was reduced to 10 men but still proved too classy for
\nthe Philippines Sunday, shutting them out 2-0 in the final
\nencounter of the Group A eliminations.<\/p>\n
With some of its key players benched, the more skillful Thais
\nworked just hard enough to chalk up its third straight win to top
\nthe group and formalise its entry into the semifinals.<\/p>\n
But the victory came at a cost after Worrawut Srimaka was
\nthrown out in the 34th minute for elbowing Filipino half-back
\nAlvin Ocampo as they jockeyed for position just outside the
\ngoalbox.<\/p>\n
An automatic one-game suspension for the lanky striker means
\nhe will now be out of action for the semifinals in Bangkok on
\nNovember 16.<\/p>\n
\"When you're reduced to 10 men then your main aim is not to
\nconcede a goal. We still won 2-0, which is what we wanted,\" said
\nThailand coach Peter Withe.<\/p>\n
Withe said he could not comment on Worrawut's violation as he
\nwas focusing on action at the other end of the field at the time.<\/p>\n
Group A standings
\n Team P W D L GF GA Pts
\n Thailand 3 3 0 0 9 2 9
\n Indonesia 3 2 0 1 9 4 6
\n Myanmar 3 1 0 2 4 8 3
\n Philippines 3 0 0 3 0 8 0<\/p>",
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