Bambang fires RI to final of Tiger Cup

Musthofid and Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A late header from Bambang Pamungkas in the second half earned Indonesia a 1-0 victory over Malaysia here on Friday and a place in the final of the Tiger Cup for the second consecutive time.

Playing before a home crowd of 70,000 inside the Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia, which reached the semifinal stage as the runner-up of Group A behind Vietnam, had to be content with a goalless first half.

Apart from the handful goal chances from both sides, the second-half looked to end in a draw until Bambang headed home a cross from Budi Sudarsono in the 77th minute to send the home fans into delirium.

Indonesia will take on defending champion Thailand, which routed Vietnam 4-0 in the other semifinal match earlier in the evening.

The Sunday match will be a repeat of the 2000 edition in Bangkok, in which the Thais came out the victor.

Indonesia's head coach Ivan Kolev said they managed to exploit the loopholes in the Malaysian defense due to their option for an offense.

A tense rivalry, with local media describing it as a second episode of the Sipadan-Ligitan islands dispute in which Indonesia lost to 16-1 to Malaysia, was palpable in the Indonesia-Malaysia match, with the players from the two sides frequently resorting to harsh tackles throughout.

A sign of derision was also shown from the stands where a crowd of hooligans began throwing projectiles at the Malaysian players during the break.

However, the Malaysians did not seem surprised. They showed an attacking football which earned them an opening round 3-1 win over Thailand during the group matches en route to the semifinals.

Eddy Helmi Abdul Manan and Hairuddin Omar particularly stood out on the team with each coming close to scoring many times.

One of Omar's best chances was when he had a clean shot on goal but kicked it right at goalkeeper Hendro Kartiko.

On the other side, Indonesia could have doubled the lead through Budi Sudarsono, who fumbled the ball when he had space to strike through an open space of Azmin Azram Abdul Aziz's goal post.

Worawoot Srimaka, Narongchai Vachiraban, Manit Noyvach and Sakda Joemdee were the goal scorers for Thailand. The win signaled a return to form for the two-time champs.

After losing to Malaysia in the group matches, Thailand was lucky to qualify for the semifinal round in Jakarta after playing to a 1-1 draw with Singapore in their last game.