Indonesia through to semis at ASEAN U-17

Indonesia through to semis at ASEAN U-17

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

Indonesia secured a place in the semifinals at the Southeast
Asian U-17 Soccer Championship after booking a 6-0 win over the
Philippines at Teladan Stadium here on Monday.

In another match held separately at T.D. Pardede Stadium,
Thailand and Cambodia drew 0-0, wiping away both teams' chances
of reaching the semifinals.

Before Monday's match, Indonesia had four points, as did
Thailand and Cambodia.

Indonesia collected seven points to end Group B's runner up,
while Laos topped the group with eight points.

Ari Yuganda started the onslaught by scoring two goals in the
first half in the 22nd and 25th minute. Two minutes later Nur
Ichsan netted the ball to extend Indonesia's lead to 3-0. Nur
scored his second goal in the 53rd minute.

Putut Waringin Jati scored another in the 73rd minute, while
Tony Sucipto made it 6-0 just before the final whistle.

Jim Bryden's side played aggressively with 11 goal
opportunities forcing Filipino goalkeeper Casas Louie Michael to
work hard.

Michael was replaced by Duran Arsie Cris in the second half,
after he suffered a knee injury in the penalty box.

Vietnamese referee Vo Minh Tri showed Filipino Sablon Johne
Pietro the yellow card.

Dutch coach Bryden told a post-match media conference that he
had instructed his boys to go on the attack.

"Actually, I had expected my squad to win 9-0. But, I am still
satisfied with the result," he said. "There are no reasons to say
that I am disappointed."

"As for the semifinal, we will do our best and improve our
training to reach the final."

In the knock-out semifinals on Thursday, Indonesia will face
Group A winner Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, while Laos will face
Group A's runner up Myanmar.

The winners of both matches are set to play in the finals on
Saturday.

The Indonesian team left for Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.