Kurniawan's face-saving goal for Indonesia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Agile striker Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto determined
\nIndonesia's modest 1-0 victory over Hong Kong in an Olympic Games
\nqualifier at the Senayan stadium on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The long-awaited goal came just 10 minutes after an error-
\nprone first half, with Kurniawan volleying a curled pass from
\nChris Yarangga past Hong Kong goalie Kevin Lok. A dazed Lok, who
\nmade a number of superb dives during the match, lost his feet as
\nKurniawan drove the ball to the left post.<\/p>\n
Taking total control over the high-spirited match, the
\nIndonesian teenagers should have scored more than one goal. But a
\nKurniawan-led trio of forwards bungled a number of chances
\nbecause of their flimsy finishing touch.<\/p>\n
Indonesian captain Bima Sakti failed to form a well-organized
\nsquad in the midfield, leaving strikers Kurniawan and Asep Dayat
\nto scramble for misfired passes.<\/p>\n
Defender Aples Tecuari stole the show with his tremendous
\nsupport of Indonesia's relentless assaults. Easing past Hong
\nKong's three defenders, Aples came within an inch of giving his
\nteam the lead in the first half, with Lok the only remaining
\nhurdle. Lok, however, produced a brave dive, snatching the ball
\nfaster than Aples had anticipated.<\/p>\n
The pressure remained on Hong Kong in the second half, as
\ncoach Danurwindo's goal-hungry boys sped up their pace to the
\ndelight of their 50,000 flag-waving, drum-beating home fans.<\/p>\n
Danurwindo injected fresh blood into his squad mid-half to the
\nfinal whistle by sending on Indriyanto, goal-scorer in
\nIndonesia's 1-2 defeat to South Korea last week, to replace Nurul
\nHuda. The late substitution paid off, but Indonesia's rejuvenated
\nstrikers gave the Hong Kong side no more than threats.<\/p>\n
\"Unfortunately, we could not let Indriyanto in earlier,
\nknowing that he was not fit enough to play for 90 minutes,\"
\nassistant coach Tord Grip said. Indriyanto was nursing a head
\ninjury he suffered during Indonesia's first match against South
\nKorea.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong coach Raymond Ng Way Man praised Indonesia's
\nperformance, but warned his opponents of a retaliation in their
\nsecond meeting in August.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia played commendably, especially in the second half.
\nBut we believe we can beat them at home,\" Way Man said.<\/p>\n
No change<\/p>\n
The victory did not change the Group C standings, with South
\nKorea taking a commanding lead following its two away wins.
\nIndonesia will travel to South Korea and Hong Kong on Aug. 22 and
\n28 respectively.<\/p>\n
The top team of the group will join other seven Asian
\nqualifiers, vying for three berths to the 16-field soccer
\ncompetition in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.<\/p>\n
Grip declined to say much about his team's chances in its two
\naway matches, but asserted that the young booters were hopeful of
\nvictories. \"We still have chances. We will find out what we have
\nto do with our goal-scoring skills,\" the Swedish coach added.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's squad of 20 are taking a break for a week before
\nreturning to Italy on June 7. They have been groomed in the
\nworld's most outstanding soccer country for the past two years.<\/p>\n
Grip has proposed a series of tryouts against a Swedish first
\ndivision club and the Swedish national under-21 team in July,
\nprior to Indonesia's away matches. (amd)<\/p>",
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