Indonesia goes to semis after routed Myanmar 5-0
Indonesia goes to semis after routed Myanmar 5-0
CHIANG MAI, Thailand (AP): Gendut Doni Christiawan and Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto scored two goals apiece as Indonesia whitewashed Myanmar 5-0 Sunday in its finest display of football so far in the Tiger Cup tournament.
Playing a 3-5-2 formation, the white-shirted Indonesians seized the early initiative and went forward in search of the victory that takes them into the semifinals.
"It was a different Indonesia out there today," Myanmar coach David Booth said after seeing his team demolished by a blistering second-half performance.
With the rumored sacking of head coach Nandar Iskandar, Indonesia was widely expected to come out with a different lineup. Caretaker coach Dananjaya left out Ismed Sofyan, Sugiantoro, Suwandi Siswoyo and I Putu Gede on the bench.
They were replaced by Uston Nawawi, Budiman, Nur'Alim and Jet Donald Laala.
Indonesian team captain Aji Santoso said after the match that Nandar had decided to take a break until the end of the Cup. Aji, however, did not say explicitly that the players were discontent with Nandar following a 1-4 defeat by Thailand.
"Dananjaya will take care of everything," Aji was quoted by the spokesman of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) Eddi Elison as saying.
Gendut, voted man of the match, looked a possessed man as he tore into the heart of the Myanmar defense in the early minutes but saw four spectacular attempts foiled or missing the goal narrowly.
At the final whistle, Myanmar players dropped to their knees and the Indonesians celebrated their progress to the last four. Team manager Mohammad Zein indicated later that the first goal had been the most critical.
"After that first goal, Myanmar had to come out to find an equalizer. All they needed was a draw and they had to score. That left many holes at the back and we capitalized on it," he said.
Booth, the Myanmar coach, said the team paid for its inexperience.
Thailand was reduced to 10 men but still proved too classy for the Philippines Sunday, shutting them out 2-0 in the final encounter of the Group A eliminations.
With some of its key players benched, the more skillful Thais worked just hard enough to chalk up its third straight win to top the group and formalise its entry into the semifinals.
But the victory came at a cost after Worrawut Srimaka was thrown out in the 34th minute for elbowing Filipino half-back Alvin Ocampo as they jockeyed for position just outside the goalbox.
An automatic one-game suspension for the lanky striker means he will now be out of action for the semifinals in Bangkok on November 16.
"When you're reduced to 10 men then your main aim is not to concede a goal. We still won 2-0, which is what we wanted," said Thailand coach Peter Withe.
Withe said he could not comment on Worrawut's violation as he was focusing on action at the other end of the field at the time.
Group A standings Team P W D L GF GA Pts Thailand 3 3 0 0 9 2 9 Indonesia 3 2 0 1 9 4 6 Myanmar 3 1 0 2 4 8 3 Philippines 3 0 0 3 0 8 0