Coaches stunned by RI's 4-0 soccer win

JAKARTA (JP): Coaches from Singapore, Myanmar and Thailand were all surprised to see Indonesia crush Malaysia 4-0 in the soccer SEA Games competition at Senayan Stadium Thursday.

"What! Indonesia beat Malaysia, it's unbelievable. Malaysia is a strong team that could not be beaten easily by any team in Southeast Asia," coach Barry Whitebread of the Singaporean team said at the Lebak Bulus Stadium, South Jakarta Thursday, as quoted by Suara Pembaruan.

Singapore defeated Cambodia 2-1, at Lebak Bulus Thursday.

Whitebread, however, admitted that such a victory could always happen since Indonesia was the host.

Myanmar coach Myo Win Nyut also showed his surprise by saying Indonesia's win over Malaysia could make way for other teams to find a path to the gold.

"It is certainly a surprise for me that Indonesia could win against Malaysia. Indonesia deserves to win over Malaysia," Nyut said.

Nyut added that the victory could incite the Indonesian players to play better in their other matches. "I believe that Indonesia's victory was due to the support of its fans who at the same time disturbed the Malaysian players."

Thailand coach Withaya Laohakul did not comment much on Indonesia's win over Malaysia. He only said: "That's soccer. Anything can happen."

"But the victory does not affect Thailand's concentration to win the SEA Games soccer title."

Indonesia's victory came from two penalties by Fachri Hussaini in the 20th and 53rd minutes, and two open-play goals by Widodo Cahyono Putro (60) and Kurniawan (69).

Both Indonesia and Malaysia had to play with 10 men when Chinese referee Yu Jingyim gave red cards to Bima Sakti of Indonesia and Zami Mohammad Noor of Malaysia.

Bima Sakti was disappointed over the red card given to him but his dismissal from the field did not weaken his teammates' spirit.

"I am disappointed over my dismissal. But I am happy that my teammates were not weakened by it but instead played well throughout the match. This is my first red card in my soccer career," he said.

Indonesia leads Group B with seven points. Malaysia is second with six points and Laos third with 3 points.

Indonesia's last match before the semifinals is tomorrow when it plays the Phillipines at Senayan Stadium at 6 p.m. Anteve will broadcast the match live.

The semifinals will be on Oct. 16.

Tomorrow's matches also see Vietnam play Laos at Senayan (4 p.m.), and two matches at Lebak Bulus Stadium, South Jakarta between Singapore and Brunei Darussalam (4 p.m.), and Thailand and Cambodia (6:15 p.m.). (lnt)