Junior team beats Persija 3-2

Junior team beats Persija 3-2

JAKARTA (JP): The national junior soccer team scored a 3-2
victory over Persija - last April's amateur, inter-city soccer
championship finalists - in a proving ground match at a packed
Senayan Stadium on Saturday.

The friendly game was meant to condition the junior team,
which has just returned from training in Italy, for the Asian
Under-19 Championship slated to be held here from Sept. 11 to 25.

It took the teenagers 29 minutes to score their first goal in
the first half, by way of Nurul Huda - a newcomer who joined the
team a few months ago.

Prolific striker Kurniawan Yulianto, an Italian Cup winner who
was Sampdoria's import player during their Asia tour last April,
made it 2-0 eight minutes later.

With a 2-0 lead in the first half, the under-20-year-old
booters seemed to be overconfident, as their coach Danurwindo
later remarked. This overconfidence weakened their defense and
gave Persija the leeway to equalize.

However, the junior team's victory was finally sealed as
Kurniawan roared back with his second goal, in the 54th minute of
the game.

Commenting on the junior team's triumph, Azwar Anas, chairman
of the All-Indonesia Football Association (PSSI), was reported by
Antara to have been deeply impressed. He went on to say that the
youths had made considerable progress after one year of training
in Italy and that their quality of play was by no means below
their seniors.

Ten teams qualify for the under-19 competitions staged at
Senayan stadium, with host Indonesia earning an automatic entry.
Kurniawan and company will set off their campaign against Qatar
on Sept. 11. (arf)