RI books berth in Asian Cup finals<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian soccer team cruised into the
\nAsian Cup final in Lebanon in November 2000 with a crushing 9-2
\ndefeat of Cambodia in their Group 7 prequalification match at
\nSenayan soccer stadium on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's star striker Rocky Puttiray kicked off the goal
\ndeluge by scoring two minutes after referee Krishnan Manoharan
\nblew the opening whistle. The 29-year-old Ambon native scored
\nanother goal in the 38th minute to seal Indonesia's victory.<\/p>\n
Rocky scored a total of seven goals in the prequalifying
\nround.<\/p>\n
Teammates Eko Purjianto, Imran Nahumarury, Uston Nawawi and
\nWidodo Cahyono Putro added one goal each in the 15th, 33rd, 40th
\nand 80th minutes respectively. The youngest member of the team,
\nBambang Pamungkas, 19, contributed two goals in the 53rd and 62nd
\nminutes.<\/p>\n
Veteran Cambodian striker Hok Sochetra scored two goals to
\nhelp his team retain some pride. Hok was awarded a penalty shot
\nin the 13th minute after Indonesian defender Nur'alim tackled the
\nCambodian in the penalty box. Nur'alim also received a yellow
\ncard for the ill-advised tackle.<\/p>\n
Hok produced his second goal in the 54th minute.<\/p>\n
Cambodia coach Joachim Fickert of Germany blamed his team's
\nfailure on its lack of experience.<\/p>\n
"My players were not playing with their heads, compared to the
\nIndonesian team. The biggest difficulty is that our players are
\nnot yet able to anticipate the critical situation when they are
\nunder pressure. They made too many individual mistakes," Ficker
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Indonesia coach Nandar Iskandar was pleased to accomplish his
\ntask of leading Indonesia to the Asian Cup final.<\/p>\n
"We already knew the Cambodian players' skills were below
\nours. Now the national team has qualified for the Asian Cup final
\nand I hand over the responsibility of training the team to the
\nSoccer Association of Indonesia," he said.<\/p>\n
Nandar singled out the performance of the red-and-white-haired
\nRocky for compliment.<\/p>\n
"I have a good word for Rocky: he is our number one striker,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
During the postgame media conference, Rocky thanked God for
\nhis performance.<\/p>\n
"This is a blessing from God. I might have finally matured
\nthis year. When I was a member of the 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA)
\nGames team, I hardly got a chance to perform and to improve my
\nskills. I'm not saying bad things about (SEA Games coach) Bernard
\nSchumm, but Pak Nandar has given me and the other players the
\nopportunity to improve our technical skills," he said.<\/p>\n
Rocky said he was ready to sign a deal with either Home United
\nor Tampines of Singapore.<\/p>\n
"I'm waiting for a letter of recommendation from Persija
\n(where Rocky currently plays). Home United will give me a tryout
\nin December, and is now waiting for the letter from Persija," he
\nsaid. (ivy)<\/p>\n
Standings: (games, wins, draws, losses, points, average points)
\nIndonesia (4 games, 3 wins, 1 draws, 0 losses, 18-5 points, 10
\naverage points); Hong Kong (4 games, 2 wins, 1 draws, 1 losses,
\n7-5 points, 7 average points); Cambodia (4 games, -, -, 4 losses,
\n4-19 points, 4 average points).<\/p>",
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