Indonesia goes down to host Vietnam 1-0

Indonesia goes down to host Vietnam 1-0

The Jakarta Post, Hanoi

A ten-man Indonesia squad went down 1-0 to Vietnam on Thursday
leaving it with a difficult task in its last match in Group A
against defending champion Thailand.

The only scorer in the game at the My Dinh Stadium was Phan
Thanh Binh in the 34th minute. Earlier, Thailand routed Laos 6-0.

Thailand and Vietnam have collected four points each with the
former topping the table thanks to goal difference.

Indonesia, which only managed a 1-0 over Laos in the opening
match, is now in third place with three points. It will be a do-
or-die match for Indonesia against Vietnam on Sunday.

On Thursday, Indonesia had to play with ten men almost
throughout the second half after Edu Juanda was shown the red
card for his foul on Phan Van Quyen in the 55th minute by referee
Lee Young-chun of South Korea.

Indonesian coach Serghei Dubrovin was so disappointed by the
result that he refused to talk to reporters after the match.

Instead, assistant coach Mundary Karya spoke at the media
conference. He said that the team was disappointed by "bad
refereeing", which had affected the players' performance.

"The players were disappointed by the refereeing which they
say went against them. The players became confused and their game
was affected," Mundary said.

Mundary rued the goal, saying that the players should not have
lost their concentration. The Indonesian's defenders were
distracted by the ball, leaving Thanh Binh unnoticed inside the
penalty box to head home a cross.

"The team played better in the second half. Unfortunately, the
red card spoilt the game," Mundary said.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese coach Alfred Riedl said he was satisfied
with his players' performance.

Earlier, defending soccer champion Thailand thrashed Laos 6-0,
with Sarayoot Chaikamdee firing four first-half goals. Thailand
was held to a 1-1 tie with Vietnam in the opening round, while
Laos lost 1-0 to Indonesia.

Thailand's coach Carlos Calvalho said the performance was an
improvement on the opening match.

"I'm satisfied with the score today and I'll be preparing of
the next match," he said. Thailand needs to beat Indonesia to
ensure a place in the semifinals from Pool A.

In Group B, which is being played in Ho Chi Minh City,
Malaysia and Myanmar qualified for the next stage after
collecting six points each from two wins. Singapore and Cambodia
were eliminated.