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