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)