National team loses to Vitesse in friendly

JAKARTA (JP): The national soccer team was given a valuable lesson prior to its Asian Cup finals' campaign by Dutch first division side Vitesse Arnhem on Thursday.

Fielding its second stringers, the Dutch league leader showed up the weak defense of Nandar Iskandar's squad with a three-goal spree in 13 minutes in the middle of the second half to win the friendly 4-2.

Vitesse opened the scoring just three minutes after the kick- off, but Gendut Doni struck back with an equalizer 13 minutes later. The score remained 1-1 until the break.

Striker Bambang Pamungkas, who was released by his club, the Netherlands-based EHC Norad, wasted many scoring opportunities during the second half.

The home side extended the margin to 4-1 after goals in the 59th, 61st and 72nd minutes, which were mostly attributable to Indonesia's shaky defense. An own goal by a Vitesse defender 10 minutes from time saved further Indonesian blushes.

In his report, a copy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post, Nandar failed to identify the Vitesse scorers.

Nandar blamed the loss not only on the fact that his team was a notch below the Dutch in terms of technical skills, but the absence of several key defenders, particularly Aji Santoso, who will only join the squad after his Asian club championship duties have been completed.

"We at least made good openings during the first test. The defense system which I would like to apply was fully understood, although the absence of some players has adversely affected the team," Nandar said.

He expected the team would fare better when it plays Dordricht on Oct. 4.

The team is scheduled to meet NAC Breda, currently the runner- up in the first division, on Oct. 6 in its third match and one more club before leaving for Lebanon for the Asian Cup.

Other players yet to come include PSM Makassar's Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto, Bima Sakti and Hendro Kartiko and from Pupuk Kaltim (PKT) Bontang's Jet Donald Laala.

Nandar said striker Rocky Puttiray, who is renowned for his penchant of dying his hair, will also join the team from Hong Kong, where he plays with local team Instant Dict. (ivy)