Indonesia tops Tiger Cup Group A

Indonesia tops Tiger Cup Group A

SINGAPORE (AFP): A wonder goal from Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto yesterday helped Indonesia to the top slot in the Tiger Cup's Group A despite a 1-1 draw with Vietnam, setting up a semifinal confrontation with Malaysia.

Kurniawan's 44th minute rocket, after some superb work by teammate Budiman, opened the scoring in the deciding Group A game.

However, the Indonesians were denied a 100 percent record in the qualifying round when Vo Hoang Boo scored from the penalty spot in the 77th minute after Dang Phuong Nam was brought down.

Vietnam also qualify for the semifinals, ahead of Laos and Myanmar, which played later in the evening. Myanmar won 4-2 thanks to two goals from Khenkitisack Bounlap.

Vietnam proved its silver medal in the South East Asian Games last year was no fluke as it held the upper hand at the start of the game. Striker Le Huynh Duc allowed a gilt-edged chance to slip by the post in the 10th minute.

Indonesia's Eri Iriyanto then hit the cross-bar with a fierce 30 yard drive 11 minutes before Kurniawan pummeled the ball into the back of the net.

Eri shook the woodwork again in the second half with a 20 yard free-kick while Kurniawan missed a great opportunity minutes later.

But the Indonesians suffered a major set back for the knock- out phase when top scorer Peri Sandria, who has struck four times in the tournament, was carried off with an injured ankle.

Vietnam will play Thailand in tomorrow's semifinals after the Thais topped Group B with a victory over host Singapore on Tuesday night. Malaysia qualified thanks to a 6-0 win over Brunei in which substitutes Anuar Abu Bakar and M Chandran both scored twice.

A Natipong Sritong-in goal in the 68th minute put the regional powerhouse Thailand through as the winner of Group B with 10 points from four games.

Earlier on Tuesday, K Sanbagamaran, joint top scorer with Natipong on five goals, opened the scoring in the third minute with Samsurin Abd Rahman netting the other.

Results

Vietnam 1 Indonesia 1 Laos 2 Myanmar 4 Brunei 0 Malaysia 6 Singapore 0 Thailand 1

Final standings

Group A:

P W D L F A Pts Indonesia 4 3 1 0 15 3 10 Vietnam 4 2 2 0 9 4 8 Myanmar 4 2 0 2 11 12 6 Laos 4 1 1 2 5 9 4 Cambodia 4 0 0 4 1 12 0

Group B: Thailand 4 3 1 0 13 1 10 Malaysia 4 2 2 0 15 2 8 Singapore 4 2 1 1 7 2 7 Brunei 4 1 0 3 1 15 3 Philippines 4 0 0 4 0 16 0