Indonesia confident of second victory

JAKARTA (JP): A winning start on Monday has given host Indonesia a precious boost ahead of its second match in the Independence Cup soccer tournament against Chinese Taipei on Wednesday.

Despite a big chance of producing another goal feast in the tournament, Indonesian coach Nandar Iskandar refused to play down the Taiwanese, who appeared less tactical in their 0-3 drubbing by Iraq on Monday.

Nandar has called up young players to form the national squad and is using this tournament to observe their skills and teamwork before competing in the 2000 Asian Cup in Lebanon from Oct. 12 to Oct. 29.

"Half of the team are still young, so they feel the pressures of playing in an international event. I hope tomorrow they will improve their game," Nandar told a media briefing on Tuesday.

The match between Indonesia and Chinese Taipei will be played at Senayan Stadium at 7 p.m. after Iraq takes on Myanmar at 5 p.m.

Nandar said he believed the Chinese Taipei team in its defeat to Iraq had yet to play its best.

"We want to win. Chinese Taipei may look weak, but we will be extra cautious," he said.

Myanmar, banking mostly on young players who are being groomed for the 2000 Tiger Cup tournament and 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, took Indonesia to the limit before succumbing 1-4 on Monday.

Viewing the way the Myanmarese performed, many believe they could pose a threat to Indonesia in next year's SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.

Over the past decade, Indonesia has never won the SEA Games soccer gold medal. The country last took the bronze in the 1999 Games in Brunei Darussalam.

Nandar refused to disclose his strategy against Chinese Taipei, but was convinced his team would fare better than its opening match.

Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei's assistant coach, Wu Guo-ming, promised a hard-fought match against the host team, although he may loose two of his key players through injury.

"Striker Hsu Te-ming hurt his knee while midfielder Huang Che- ming has a sore back. We may not field them on Wednesday," Wu said on the sidelines of his team's practice session.

"But we want to win. We will try our best."

He also praised the Indonesian team's skills.

"Indonesian players are very speedy. They are also very skillful in playing the ball on their feet," he said.

Wu expressed hope that his team could intensify its defense when playing Indonesia.

Iraqi was awarded a penalty four minutes into the first half following handball inside the Taiwanese penalty box. The first goal for Iraq upset the Chinese Taipei team, which was left struggling throughout the rest of the match.

"The referee might have been inaccurate in his observation. We thought our player did not touch the ball with his hand. We were very upset after the goal," Wu said. (ivy)