Indonesia cautious of host challege

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Having cleared the first hurdle in the form of feisty Vietnam, the Indonesian men's soccer team is set to meet yet tougher opponents when it takes on host Malaysia in its second Group B match on Sunday.

"Considering our long-standing rivalry so far, Malaysia is stronger than Vietnam. To win the upcoming match, we must attack more from both wings as well as the center of the field," coach Benny Dollo told reporters on Friday.

"Our attacks from the flank looked ineffective, as exposed by the Vietnamese players during Thursday's match. I am not satisfied with my boys' achievement, although they won their first match."

Benny also plans to field Firman Utina in place of Purwanto, who received a two-match ban after picking up a red card during the match against Vietnam. The replacement, Benny said, is needed to keep the flow of his team's attacks balanced.

"As for our chances against Malaysia, it is going to be a tough one. Our victory over Vietnam, however, has served as a morale-boost to our players in their bid to reach the semifinals and final," he said.

Malaysia last won its SEA Games soccer final match against Indonesia in Jakarta in 1989, but Indonesia took sweet revenge two years later in Manila.

To qualify for the semifinals, Indonesia has to beat either Malaysia or Vietnam. The other team in Group B is minnow Brunei Darussalam.

The match against Vietnam was indeed an awakening from a nightmare, given that in the past Vietnam had upset Indonesia three times. The first was at the Chiang Mai 1995 SEA Games, in which Indonesia was denied entry to the final.

Vietnam continued the jinx in Brunei Darussalam in 1999, a year after it outplayed Indonesia at the Tiger Cup in 1998.

The 1995 loss was so bitter that it could have distracted Benny's side prior to Thursday's match.

The Vietnamese could have dashed Indonesia's hopes of revenge when Purwanto was shown the red card after just three minutes of play, following an incident involving Nguyen Quoc Truong.

Nguyen hit Purwanto's head from behind after being tackled by Purwanto.

Both players exchanged punches, forcing referee R Vijay of Singapore to directly punish each with a red card.

As he left the pitch, Purwanto was seen trying to hold back tears because the punishment meant a two-match ban for him.

The Indonesian attack was then limp because Bambang Pamungkas had lost his support.

Playing with 10 players, they looked desperate in initiating attacks until the game entered its final 15 minutes, when Vietnam lost another player, giving Indonesia more playing space.

After several wasted chances, Maman, standing unmarked in front of a goalpost, managed to knock in Bambang's pass at the 81st minute. (nvn)