RI coach Withe looks for better luck next time<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Singapore<\/p>\n
As Singapore celebrated its Tiger Cup victory, Indonesia coach
\nPeter Withe said he would cast the net wide in search of new
\ntalent in the wake of the loss.<\/p>\n
\"You have to accept defeat as well as victory,\" said the
\nformer England international who coached Thailand to two Tiger
\nCup wins. \"Not even Brazil can win all the time.<\/p>\n
\"My immediate task is to look at all 5,000 players in
\nIndonesia.\"<\/p>\n
It was third time unlucky for Indonesia, who were also beaten
\nfinalists in 2000 and 2002. Withe took over the coaching duties
\nlast August.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic hopes his team
\ncan build on their emphatic second Tiger Cup victory to become a
\nsignificant force in Asian soccer.<\/p>\n
Singapore romped to a 5-2 aggregate win late on Sunday in the
\nhome-and-away final against Indonesia, who failed to recover from
\ntheir 3-1 defeat in Jakarta on Jan. 8 despite setting the group
\nstages alight with 17 unanswered goals.<\/p>\n
Avramovic said after the victory that Singapore had failed to
\ncapitalize on their 1998 win in Southeast Asia's international
\nshowpiece, the high point of the city-state's soccer history, and
\nshould learn from the mistake.<\/p>\n
\"I want the team to build on the victory,\" said the Serbia-
\nMontenegrin. \"We have to look at what went wrong in 1998 and we
\nhave to make sure we don't repeat the mistake.\"<\/p>\n
The Lions wrapped up their victory 2-1 in front of their home
\nfans, courtesy of Indra Sahdan Daud's early strike and a penalty
\nfrom Agu Casmir.<\/p>\n
The final was already well beyond Indonesia's grasp when Eli
\nAiboy scored their consolation goal deep into the second half.<\/p>\n
\"Nobody gave us any chance before the tournament,\" said
\nAvramovic.<\/p>\n
\"It is a great result for Singapore, no doubt, but we have
\nworked hard to keep up with the rest of Asia. We must build on
\nthis success.\"<\/p>\n
He added that the victory, in front of a rare capacity
\nNational Stadium crowd, should revive public interest in his
\nteam's fortunes.<\/p>\n
\"The result should bring back support for the national team,\"
\nsaid the former Yugoslav star.<\/p>\n
No less than President S.R. Nathan turned up to cheer the
\nLions to victory against a rival with a population 50 times
\nlarger than Singapore's.<\/p>\n
Malaysia finished third in the 10-team tournament, whose group
\nstages were played in Vietnam and Malaysia, after beating Myanmar
\n2-1 in Saturday's play-off.<\/p>",
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