Indonesian coach dissatisfied with 5-2 win over Laos

JAKARTA (JP): Widodo's two goals helped secure Indonesia's 5-2 win over Laos at the opening of the 19th SEA Games' soccer event at Senayan Main Stadium yesterday.

The two goals by Widodo Chayono Putro were made at the 43rd and 67th minutes.

The first goal by Indonesian was scored 21 minutes after the kick-off by Robby Darwis.

Striker Widodo added another goal 23 minutes later, carrying the team to a two goal lead over Laos in the first half.

Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto, another striker, contributed the third goal in the 54th minute after receiving the ball from Ansyari Lubis with his chest and kicking it into the Laos net.

But, at the 61st minute, Bounlap Khenkitisack of Laos gave the country its first goal through a pass from Keolakhone Channiphone.

Six minutes later, Widodo scored his second goal after a pass from Kurniawan, extending Indonesia's lead to 4-1.

A minute later, midfielder Ansyari Lubis scored Indonesia's fifth goal after receiving the ball from the left side of the Laos defense from Kurniawan.

The 5-1 victory did not last long. Laos Khonesavanh Homsobath scored a goal in the 70th minute and the team managed to keep Indonesia at bay until the 90-minute game ended 5-2 for Indonesia.

Some 60,000 spectators watched the match, with some yelling at the two teams and throwing plastic bottles onto the field.

There were no incidents in yesterday's match as security was very tight.

Indonesia will play its second match tomorrow against Vietnam in the same stadium at 6:15 p.m.

Tomorrow will also see three other matches with the Philippines playing Malaysia at the Senayan stadium (4 p.m.), two matches at the Lebak Bulus Stadium in South Jakarta between Brunei Darussalam and Thailand (4 p.m.) and a Singapore versus Myanmar (6:15 p.m.) match.

Wullem

Separately, coach Henk Wullem said he was not satisfied with the Indonesian team's performance.

"A start is always difficult and I still see many things which are not good," he said.

Wullem added that Indonesia had about 20 chances to score other goals but only five of them were successful.

He complained that the two goals by Laos should not have occurred, saying that Indonesia's defense was lacking and needs to be improved.

"Indonesia's defense were weak. Robby Darwis and Nuralim did not play well," he said. "They made mistakes which should not have happened to experienced players."

According to Wullem, Robby and Nuralim seem to lose their concentration during the match and forget their task of guarding the defense.

Henk also said that he would be evaluating the team, particularly the defense,

When asked about Laos' soccer team, he said that he did not know much about the players.

"I don't know much about the other opponents but I usually analyze them from the video tapes," he said.

Henk praised the offense of players saying that Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto and Widodo Cahyono Putro had played well in the opening match.

Somphou Phongsa, the Laos coach, said the Indonesian strikers deserved credit for yesterday's victory.

"Kurniawan and Widodo were very quick in their attacks and proved a variant combination," he said.

Somphou admitted that the Indonesian squad is stronger than Laos and noted that the Laotian team lacked experience.

But, he said, Laos' soccer team had demonstrated its fighting spirit.

"We lost our goal chances because the players were not calm in the finishing touches," he added.

In three other matches yesterday, Malaysia defeated Vietnam 1- 0, Thailand beat Myanmar 2-1 and Cambodia crushed Brunei Darussalam 4-0. (10)