Indonesia, Iraq lead Independence Cup first day<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Iraq got off to a flying start in
\nthe Independence Cup soccer tournament at the Senayan Stadium
\nhere on Monday with a convincing win each.<\/p>\n
The host defied persistent challenges from Myanmar to win 4-1
\nin the second match of the day, while the Iraqis, who are mostly
\njunior players, overpowered China Taipei 3-0 in the opening
\nmatch.<\/p>\n
With only some 2,000 spectators filling the 100,000-seat
\nstadium, no one, however, was expecting full-action matches.
\nIndonesia, tuning up for the Asian Cup in October, is the only
\nteam parading top national players, while the three visitors are
\njust seeking experience.<\/p>\n
It took Indonesia only eight minutes to open the scoring
\nthrough young striker Gendut Doni. Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto scored
\ntwice in the 31st and 40th minutes to bring the margin up to
\nthree until the break.<\/p>\n
Myanmar had played with 10 players from the 33rd minute after
\ndefender Min Thu received a red card for his rough tackling of
\nIndonesian defender Aji Santoso.<\/p>\n
The feisty Myanmarese displayed a remarkable fightback in the
\nsecond half, when midfielder Zaw Lynn Inn escaped the Indonesian
\ndefense for an angled shot which beat goalkeeper Hendro Kartiko
\nin the 48th minute.<\/p>\n
Five minutes later, Doni found the net again to seal
\nIndonesia's victory with a clinical finish to a feed-through from
\nmidfielder Ismet Sofyan.<\/p>\n
Indonesian coach Nandar Iskandar said afterwards he used the
\nmatch to find the best pairing of strikers. He let in Rocky
\nPuttiray to team up with Kurniawan in place of Doni later in the
\nsecond half when hopes dimmed for Myanmar to turn the tables.<\/p>\n
Nandar said Rocky was given the chance to play to allow him to
\nget in tune in with his teammates. Rocky was fresh from Hong
\nKong, where he plays for local club Instant-Dict.<\/p>\n
He refrained from underestimating Chinese Taipei, whom the
\nnational team play on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n
\"Sometimes, a weak team can be a stumbling block for us,\"
\nNandar said.<\/p>\n
Despite the loss, Myanmar coach David Booth vowed to improve
\nhis team's performance in the next match against Iraq. \"We won't
\nget away in the second match. If you're asking whether I'll lose
\nhope, then I don't have any question.\"<\/p>\n
Striker Ahmad Khudaer gave Iraq a 1-0 lead from the penalty
\nspot in the 4th minute following a handball in the Taiwanese
\npenalty box.<\/p>\n
Second striker Emad A. Mohammad benefited from Khudaer's feed
\nto score the second goal for Iraq in the 25th minute. Emad
\ntallied his goal to two in the 58th minute.<\/p>\n
Despite the big win, Iraq's Yugoslav-born coach Barja Maric
\nsaid he was not satisfied with his team's performance.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not satisfied because the team got a 'compliment' from
\nChina Taipei with a penalty,\" he said. (ivy)<\/p>\n
Standings (P, W, D, L, GF:GA, Pts)<\/p>\n
Indonesia (1, 1, 0, 0, 4-1, 3), Iraq (1, 1, 0, 0, 3-0, 3),
\nMyanmar (1, 0, 0, 1, 1-4, 0), China Taipei (1, 0, 0, 1, 0-3, 0)<\/p>",
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