Indonesia, Iraq lead Independence Cup first day

Indonesia, Iraq lead Independence Cup first day

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Iraq got off to a flying start in
the Independence Cup soccer tournament at the Senayan Stadium
here on Monday with a convincing win each.

The host defied persistent challenges from Myanmar to win 4-1
in the second match of the day, while the Iraqis, who are mostly
junior players, overpowered China Taipei 3-0 in the opening
match.

With only some 2,000 spectators filling the 100,000-seat
stadium, no one, however, was expecting full-action matches.
Indonesia, tuning up for the Asian Cup in October, is the only
team parading top national players, while the three visitors are
just seeking experience.

It took Indonesia only eight minutes to open the scoring
through young striker Gendut Doni. Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto scored
twice in the 31st and 40th minutes to bring the margin up to
three until the break.

Myanmar had played with 10 players from the 33rd minute after
defender Min Thu received a red card for his rough tackling of
Indonesian defender Aji Santoso.

The feisty Myanmarese displayed a remarkable fightback in the
second half, when midfielder Zaw Lynn Inn escaped the Indonesian
defense for an angled shot which beat goalkeeper Hendro Kartiko
in the 48th minute.

Five minutes later, Doni found the net again to seal
Indonesia's victory with a clinical finish to a feed-through from
midfielder Ismet Sofyan.

Indonesian coach Nandar Iskandar said afterwards he used the
match to find the best pairing of strikers. He let in Rocky
Puttiray to team up with Kurniawan in place of Doni later in the
second half when hopes dimmed for Myanmar to turn the tables.

Nandar said Rocky was given the chance to play to allow him to
get in tune in with his teammates. Rocky was fresh from Hong
Kong, where he plays for local club Instant-Dict.

He refrained from underestimating Chinese Taipei, whom the
national team play on Wednesday evening.

"Sometimes, a weak team can be a stumbling block for us,"
Nandar said.

Despite the loss, Myanmar coach David Booth vowed to improve
his team's performance in the next match against Iraq. "We won't
get away in the second match. If you're asking whether I'll lose
hope, then I don't have any question."

Striker Ahmad Khudaer gave Iraq a 1-0 lead from the penalty
spot in the 4th minute following a handball in the Taiwanese
penalty box.

Second striker Emad A. Mohammad benefited from Khudaer's feed
to score the second goal for Iraq in the 25th minute. Emad
tallied his goal to two in the 58th minute.

Despite the big win, Iraq's Yugoslav-born coach Barja Maric
said he was not satisfied with his team's performance.

"I'm not satisfied because the team got a 'compliment' from
China Taipei with a penalty," he said. (ivy)

Standings (P, W, D, L, GF:GA, Pts)

Indonesia (1, 1, 0, 0, 4-1, 3), Iraq (1, 1, 0, 0, 3-0, 3),
Myanmar (1, 0, 0, 1, 1-4, 0), China Taipei (1, 0, 0, 1, 0-3, 0)