Indonesia grabs point against Kuwait at Asian Cup
Indonesia grabs point against Kuwait at Asian Cup
TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Agencies): Minnows Indonesia battled to a deserved 0-0 draw against title hopefuls Kuwait in an entertaining Asian Cup Group B match here on Friday.
Indonesia -- tipped as the tournament whipping boys -- surprised the Kuwaitis with a spirited display to win a hard- earned point.
Goalkeeper Hendro Kartiko was the hero for the Indonesians, keeping the Kuwaitis at bay with a string of priceless saves in the first half.
Kuwait had threatened to run riot early on with shots flying goalward at regular intervals.
Nohayr Al Shammari was the first to test Kartiko, letting rip with a fine shot after 15 minutes.
Ten minutes later Kartiko pulled off his best save of the match, diving full-stretch to dip a 25-yarder from Osama Abdullah over for a corner.
Shortly afterward Jassem Al Houwaidi got on the end of a floated through ball and hooked a sweet first-time volley straight at the Indonesian goal.
But again Kartiko was equal to the challenge, parrying to safety.
As the Kuwaitis grew more frustrated with the limpet-like marking of the Indonesians, the underdogs grew ever more adventurous and even carved out a few openings of their own.
On the stroke of half-time Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto skipped through a challenge and blasted a shot at Falah Al Majidi, who did well to clear.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Kuwait pressuring but failing to find a way through the resolute Indonesian defense.
Indonesia's head coach, Nandar Iskandar, said his team had played well in drawing with the Kuwaitis.
"They played short balls to overcome Kuwait's overhead balls as instructed," he said in a fax to The Jakarta Post.
"I had to switch several players for various reasons, mainly because they didn't have enough agility," he added.
He also revealed the tournament's organizing committee decided to allow 22 players to a squad, saying it was a tough championship.
"It was such a relief. There will be no player shortage due to injury or red cards," he said.
Indonesian captain Aji Santoso said the draw bolstered the team's spirits ahead of matches against China and South Korea.
"The result gave us more confidence in facing our next opponents. We believe that we'll play better then. Our target is to play as well as possible.
"We didn't have any troubles against Kuwait," he said, adding that he hoped for continuing support from Indonesians back home.
Meanwhile in Sidon, Japan, the only team to take the Asian Cup away from Saudi Arabia in the last 16 years, proved it could do it again when it routed the defending champion 4-1 in a group match Saturday.
Forward Atsushi Yanagisawa opened the scoring in the 26th minute, his partner on the forward line Naohiro Takahara added the second in the 39th, midfielder Hiroshi Nanami made it 3-0 in the 54th and substitute Shinji Ono completed the victory in the 90th. Seconds later, defender Ryuzo Morioka headed in to his own net for Saudi Arabia's only goal.
Saudi Arabia suffered only its third - and worst defeat - since it won the Asian Cup the first time it entered the competition in 1984. (nvn)