Indonesia first to qualify for Tiger Cup semis
Indonesia first to qualify for Tiger Cup semis
SINGAPORE (AFP): Five first-half goals, including two from striker Peri Sandria, saw Indonesia become the first nation to qualify for the semifinals of the inaugural Tiger Cup.
Sandria's goals, in the 21st and 27th minutes, pushed the Indonesians to a 6-1 win over Myanmar and gave the young forward the man of the match award.
Indonesia now has a maximum nine points from three games, enough to guarantee it a place in the competition's last four.
The scoring was opened as early as the seventh minute when captain Fachri Husaini burst through the middle to slot the ball past the dispairing Zaw Win Naing in the Myanmarese goal.
Sandria added the second 14 minutes later as he slipped the ball under the prostrate keeper.
Myanmar pulled one back through Maung Maung Htay to spark a three minute goal frenzy that saw the Indonesians score twice more to put the result beyond doubt.
Once again Sandria struck, in the 27th minute, as he thundered the ball into the roof of the net just a minute before Ansyari Lubis scored the fourth with a shot from the edge of the penalty area.
A 39th minute penalty by Eri Iriyanto following a foul on the impressive Sandria completed the first-half scoring for the Indonesians, which complete its group program this evening with a game against Vietnam which will decide who takes the top spot in the group.
Captain Fachri Husaini completed the scoring in the 65th minute with a goal that bore all the trademarks of his first -- surging through the center before crashing the ball into the net.
Laos, meanwhile, collected its fourth point of the competition with a 1-0 win over Cambodia.
The result, thanks to a Homsonbath Khonsavanh goal in the 39th minute, means Laos still harbor very slim hopes of a semi-final berth. However, even a win over Myanmar with Vietnam losing to Indonesia on Wednesday would not be enough without an avalanche of goals.
Results
Cambodia 0 Laos 1 Indonesia 6 Myanmar 1
Standings
P W D L F A Pts Indonesia 3 3 0 0 14 2 9 Vietnam 3 2 1 0 8 3 7 Laos 3 1 1 1 3 6 4 Myanmar 3 1 0 2 7 10 3 Cambodia 4 0 0 4 1 12 0