Indonesia beats Sri Lanka 2-1 in pre-Olympic match

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's pre-Olympic soccer team did not play its best in defeating underdog Sri Lanka 2-1 in the second match of the Asian Zone Group eight prequalifying tournament for the 2000 Olympic Games at Tong Dae Moon stadium in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday, according to Tondo Widodo, spokesman for the All-Indonesian Soccer Federation (PSSI).

In the second match on Thursday, a strong South Korean team proved to be too powerful for Taiwan, notching an overwhelming 7- 0 victory.

With the results, Indonesia and South Korean stood atop the group's standings with six points each, while Taiwan and Sri Lanka were in the basement, failing to tally any points.

However, if Indonesia is to make it to Sydney it must get through the tough South Koreans, who lead the group on the basis of goals scored. South Korea has scored 12 goals compared to Indonesia's four.

Indonesia will play South Korea in the last match of the tournament on Saturday at Olympic Stadium.

Striker Bambang Pamungkas from Persikas in Semarang led Indonesia to victory on Thursday with his goal in the 21st minute.

Sri Lankan Chathura Weerasingha netted an equalizer in the 46th minute, but Indonesia fought back to score the deciding goal in the 52nd minute on a shot from midfielder Uston Nawawi of Persebaya Surabaya.

"Indonesia played with the same technique that it used against Taiwan. South Korean, which is famous for its speed and power, will certainly crush Indonesia on Saturday if Indonesia fails to change its play," Tondo said.

Bambang and Uston also scored in Indonesia's opening match on Tuesday, a 2-1 victory over Taiwan. Also on Tuesday, South Korea routed Sri Lanka 5-0.

Scoring goals for South Korea on Thursday were Park Jin-sup (14th minute), An Hyo-yeon (18), Lee Young-pyo (23), Choi Chul- woo (26), Park Dong-hyuk (34), Seol Ki-hyeon (58) and Jun Woo- keun (88). (ivy)