East Bengal will meet BEC in ASEAN's LG Cup final

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.