East Bengal will meet BEC in ASEAN's LG Cup final
Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia's hopes for a representative in the final of the inaugural ASEAN Club Championship were shattered as Petrokimia Putra bowed out after a gripping penalty shootout (8-7) to East Bengal of India in the semifinal match here on Thursday.
East Bengal will face BEC Tero Sasana of Thailand in the final match on Saturday. BEC came from behind to beat Perak FC of Malaysia 3-1 in the other semifinal match later in the day.
Frank Seator opened the scoring for the Malaysians before the Thais fought back with three goals from Anuchai Kitpongsari, Terdsak Chaiman and Jatipong Thongsuk.
Around 7,000 spectators showed up at the Bung Karno stadium in Central Jakarta, and were disappointed to see Petro lose to the Indians who had dispatched the other local team -- Persita Tangerang -- en route to Thursday's game.
Petro, from Gresik, East Java, could not take advantage of East Bengal with a man down after Mahesh Gawli was given he second yellow card three minutes before the end of regulation.
The match ended 1-1 after full time. Jainal Ichwan gave Petro a 1-0 first-half lead before Bhaicung Bhutia equalized in the second half for his seventh goal of the tournament.
After the two 15-minute extra periods, the game did not change, and went to a penalty shootout, which also went to the second phase after all 10 players found the back of the net in the first phase. East Bengal managed to finally outscore Petro 7- 6 in the penalties.
Petro's coach Alexander Sikov showed a brave face despite the defeat, saying that East Bengal played well while his players, particularly on defense, fared poorly.
"They (East Bengal) played very good football. Our players kept making mistakes, especially on defense, like they did during the league season. That's why we're struggling in the league," Sikov said.
"Basically the players gave their best. Losing on a penalty shootout is like losing a lottery," he added.
While the host side tried to deal with it after the game, Subash Bhowmick's men broke into elation, some hugging each other in jubilation.
Bhowmick said his team should have sealed the win, without having to go to extra time and penalty shootout.
"We should have scored at least four goals. I'm very disappointed with my players because we could not end the game sooner," he said.
The Indian champion East Bengal started the game with confidence, taking the early initiative by dominating the midfield thanks to Brazilian Douglas Silva dos Santos' outstanding performance.
The Brazilian inspired his team's attack with a consistent ball supply to the front line where the tournament's top scorer Bhaicung Bhutia was running rampant.
However, it was Petro which made best of its only chance. Jainal Ichwan's 35-yard free kick ricocheted through the wall of East Bengal players and found the net.
East Bengal increased pressure but the equalizer came just 15 minutes into the second half with Bhutia capitalizing on a defensive error.
East Bengal was reduced to ten men as Gawli exited in the 87th minute after he was called for delay of game when he deliberately kicking a dead ball away.
The Indians managed to hang on in the extra times. During the penalty shootout, East Bengal had only Suhly Tluanga's miss when he put the ball over the bar, while Petro had to rue the missed chances by captain Sasi Kirono, whose ball sailed over the bar, and Dwi Joko, whose ball went straight into the goalkeeper's arms.