Indonesia, Iraq set up early soccer final's match

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Iraq assured themselves of tickets for the final after scoring 1-0 wins each in their second matches of the Independence Cup soccer tournament at Senayan Stadium here on Wednesday.

Midfielder Bima Sakti slammed the winner for Indonesia in the 30th minute as the host team found that its flurry of attacks were met with a solid China Taipei defense.

Iraq, which played in the afternoon match, booked a place in Sunday's final through Emad A. Mohammad, who has now tallied three goals to top the scorers' list.

Indonesia and Iraq, which have now collected six points after two wins, will have a chance to warm up before the final on Friday in a match to decide the group winner. Myanmar will face China Taipei in Friday's other match.

Rocky Puttiray could have put Indonesia up in the 25th minute if his angled header from a cross was not denied by Taiwanese goalkeeper Tsai Yuan-chu.

Five minutes later, Bima blasted a long-range shot from centerfield, which was clearly unanticipated by Tsai.

Indonesia again came close to scoring in the 42nd minute as Ricky's right-footer hit the bar. Second striker Gendut Doni was there to fire home the rebound, but it went wide.

Coach Nandar Iskandar praised his team's success but he said some improvements would be needed before playing in the 2000 Asian Cup soccer tournament in Lebanon from Oct. 12 to Oct. 29.

"I think all the players want to produce more than one goal and all of them have tried their best. For us, winning the match is the most important thing now," he told a post-match conference.

He said his players should have mounted attacks from both the wings and centerfield.

"The players, like strikers Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto and Rocky tried to heed my instruction but China Taipei's defense was too solid and their efforts were not optimal. Moreover, our midfield players improvised too much," he said.

Nandar also said that the players came under pressure to score many goals.

Meanwhile, China Taipei coach Huang Jen-chen praised Indonesia's performance in a diplomatic way. "We should have intensified our defense and launched attacks whenever we had a chance. But some of our top players were injured so we were not able to perform well."

Iraqi striker Emad found the net in the 76th minute following a corner from Walid A. Hissain.

Iraq's Yugoslavia-born coach Barja Maric said he did not field his ideal lineup as he had to prepare for the final on Sunday.

"I think five or six top players were rested to face the final. Indonesia is a very good team and has strong players," he said. (ivy)

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

Indonesia (2, 2, 0, 0, 5-1, 6), Iraq (2, 2, 0, 0, 4-0, 6), Myanmar (2, 0, 0, 2, 1-5, 0), China Taipei (2, 0, 0, 2, 0-4, 0).