Indonesia and Thailand set up final showdown
By Budiman Moerdijat and Emmy Fitri
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia edged out Singapore 2-1 yesterday to advance to the soccer final tomorrow against defending champion Thailand.
Jubilant coach Henk Wullems was confident his team could defeat Thailand. "Indonesia is the best team in the tournament," the Dutchman boasted. "If we play like we did tonight I'm sure we can win."
Indonesia squandered nearly a dozen goalmouth opportunities in a game played in front of a partisan crowd of 95,000.
Indonesia went ahead from a brilliant free kick by midfielder Bima Sakti in the 11th minute, after forward Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto was brought down on the edge of the box.
The goal marked a triumphant return for the number 11 who missed the previous game due to suspension from a red card he picked up in the game against Malaysia.
After the goal Indonesia seemed content to soak up the pressure. For the remainder of the half it was Singapore who pressed forward in search of an equalizer.
Their build-up was good, pumping high balls into the penalty area. But the final delivery was poor leaving forwards Fandi Ahmad and Zulkarnaen Zainal without real scoring chance.
In the second half the Indonesians were more positive, making darting runs down both wings.
Midfielders Ansyari Lubis, Bima Sakti and captain Fachri Husaini dominated the center of the pitch foiling any Singapore momentum in attack.
In the 54th minute, Fachri swept past three defenders into the Singapore penalty box and unleashed a rocket into the top right hand corner of the goal.
Four minutes later Singapore took advantage of a lapse in concentration by the Indonesians as right back Hairi lobbed a perfect cross for captain Fandi Ahmad to head in.
The goal kicked the Indonesian side back into life. It then launched a slew of attacks. All failed as bad finishing or brilliant goalkeeping from Rezal Hassan denied the host side more goals.
In the 78th minute Goalkeeper Kurnia Sandy aggravated an old injury in his right leg and had to be replaced by Listiyanto Rahardjo. The seriousness of Kurnia's injury is unknown.
Singapore coach Barry Whitbread said Indonesia was the better side. "Indonesia deserved to win, they played a superb game."
Vietnam lost 1-2 earlier yesterday to gold medal favorite Thailand.
Security was tight for yesterday's game with over 2,000 security personnel assigned to guard the Senayan Stadium.
Chief Sgt. Sunarko of the National Police said more than 20 people were detained before the match for carrying sharp objects or firecrackers. Scalpers were also taken to police headquarters.
Result: Indonesia 2 (Bima Sakti 11, Fachri Husaini 54), Singapore 1 (Fandi Ahmad 58)
Indonesia: Kurnia Sandy/Listiyanto Rahardjo, Sugiantoro, Nuralim, Chairil Anwar, Anang Makruf, Aji Santoso/Herman Z. Pulalo, Ansyari Lubis, Fachri Husaini, Bima Sakti, Widodo C. Putro, Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto.
Singapore: Rezal Hassan, Mohamad Hairi Su'ap/Steven Tan Teng Chuan, Aide Iskandar Sahak, Subramani Shunmugan, Ling Hong Tai, Zulkarnaen Zainal/Ahmad Latiff Khamaruddin, Mohamad Nazri Nasir, Abdul Kadir Yahaya, Fandi Ahmad/Indra Sahdan Daud, Selvaraj Vengasadalam, Rudy Khairom Daiman.