Myanmar, Vietnam look to put pressure on Indonesia

Myanmar, Vietnam look to put pressure on Indonesia

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Myanmar and Vietnam are looking to put more pressure on Indonesia
in Group A matches of the Tiger Cup when they take to the pitch
against lowly opponents on Thursday.

Myanmar will face Cambodia, which has conceded 13 goals in two
matches, while Vietnam is paired against the Philippines, which
allowed six goals against one in their opening match of the
biennial Southeast Asian soccer tournament.

With the ties expected to be lopsided affairs, goals galore
looms if results since the kick-off of the tournament being co-
hosted by Indonesia and Singapore are anything to go by.

The fate of the contenders for two places in the semifinals
will likely hinge next on the Indonesia-Vietnam and Myanmar-
Vietnam matches.

Myanmar coach David Booth signaled he was not concerned with
how many goals his team would score. He said the 0-0 draw with
Indonesia and 6-1 victory over the Philippines in the previous
matches had laid a good foundation of his team to go further.

However, with two games to play, he still seemed to be
indifferent when assessing his team's chances of reaching the
knock-out stage.

"There is still a lot for us to work for. It is important that
we beat Cambodia first. Then I think we've got quite a good
chance of making it to the semifinals," said Booth.

"Until we can beat Cambodia, there is no point dwelling on our
chances for the semifinal stage. We've played two games and I am
hopeful that we can improve further," he said, adding that
qualification for the semifinals was likely to hinge on goal
difference.

The Cambodian camp, which caused trouble during its 2-4 loss
to Indonesia, is in good spirits for the game against Myanmar,
according to coach Joachim Fickert.

Fickert said he was hoping his team could pick up their first
points of the competition.

"We can be successful. Yesterday (Tuesday) it almost
happened," lamented Fickert, referring to their game against
Indonesia where they led 2-1 after the first half before finally
going down 2-4.

"Our primary problem is the players' physical shape. They
spent seventy percent of their physical resources against
Indonesia.

"If a soccer game was played in 45 minutes we could have won
over Indonesia," he said.

Meanwhile, Vietnam will play against the Philippines without
key player Nguyen Van Sy, who is ruled out of the rest of the
tournament with a broken ankle.

Coach Henrique Calisto, however, was confident that the rest
of his squad could overcome the Philippines and reach the
semifinals.

"The target is still to qualify out of this group and right
now I am not thinking about finishing first or second. I just
want to win and play well," the Portuguese said.

Philippines coach Sugao Kambe was realistic about his team's
chances after, saying: "Vietnam is a very cohesive side. They are
mobile and quick and I think they will create many chances
against us."

"Vietnam is a quality side and I have to be realistic. They
are much better than the Philippines and I do expect a tough time
against them," he said.