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)