Malaysian booters hold Indonesia to 0-0 draw

Malaysian booters hold Indonesia to 0-0 draw

JAKARTA (JP): Host Malaysia avenged its SEA Games loss to Indonesia by holding the visiting team 0-0 in an Asian Cup battle at Shah Alam stadium in Selangor on Saturday night.

Indonesia, which spoiled two golden goal opportunities during the group IV qualifying round for the Asian Cup finals, blew its chance to relive the glorious moment when it beat Malaysia 3-0 in the Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last year.

In the 74th minute, Ansyari Lubis blasted a hard kick into the Malaysian side's upper goal post. Earlier, Rocky Puttirai missed a golden opportunity when his shot went over an empty Malaysian goal.

"The result gives us no idea as to which group IV team will go to the final round," said Indonesian coach Danuriwindo.

Meanwhile, Malaysian team manager Dell Akbar could not hide his joy.

"During the match we emphasized our defense. After we lost 3-0 in the SEA Games, it was indeed a good result," he said as quoted by the Kompas daily yesterday.

Tonight, Indonesia will take on India while Malaysia still has two more days before its match against India.

The group IV qualifying round is made up of three countries: Malaysia, Indonesia and India. The winner of the group will go to the United Arab Emirates for the December final, to which four teams are currently assured of berths: the United Arab Emirates, defending champion Japan, Saudi Arabia and China. (05)