Myanmar stave off RI soccer team for draw
Myanmar stave off RI soccer team for draw
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The national soccer team was held to a goalless draw by
Myanmar at the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Bacolod City
on Tuesday, while the women's team was beaten by Thailand in
Marikina City.
The Games, the biennial regional multisport showcase, will
officially open on Sunday, but some sports, including soccer,
have started earlier.
Myanmar, trained by former Indonesian coach Ivan Kolev, looked
the better side during the first half and created more scoring
chances in the Group B match, Antara news service reported.
Their best chance came in the 23rd minute when Soe Yat Min
sprang out of an offside trap to set himself free toward the
goal, only to kick straight to goalkeeper Samsidar.
Indonesia coach Peter Withe released Korinus Fengkrew and
Siswanto in the second half in a bid to open up more room for an
offense. However, they fell short of converting their chances.
Myanmar were upset by Laos 2-3 in their opening match on
Sunday.
Meanwhile, Junpen Seesraum and Sunisa Srangthaisong scored to
give their team a 2-1 win over Indonesia at the Marikina Sports
Complex.
Indonesia's goal was scored by Rosmita.
On Monday, Malaysia got off to a blazing start in their SEA
Games campaign.
Seeking to end a 16-year gold-medal drought, the Malaysians
began their quest with a 5-0 bashing of the hapless Cambodian
side in a Group A match, which was marred by a near free-for-
all, at the Panaad Sports Center.
Malaysia scored three goals in the first half with a complete
lineup and added two more goals in the second even after the
ejection of their second best striker Rudie Bin Ramli for verbal
abuse of the referee, according to official Games website
http://2005seagames.com.ph.
Surendren Rasiah scored two goals for Malaysia, while Ramli,
who drew an automatic suspension for the next match, Zairo Anuar
Bin Salani and Mohd Fadzil Bin Shaari delivered one apiece.
Shaari and Cambodia's Om Thavrak figured in a fight in the
20th minute that nearly escalated into a melee in full view of
Cambodian prince Norodom Buddhapong.
The group matches continue on Wednesday with the host team
taking on defending champions Thailand at the Panaad Sports
Complex.
The home side expect an extremely tough challenge but promise
to gut it out in a bid for an upset and set in motion their
aspiration to claim a first ever medal in the biennial meet, the
official website reported.