RI readies for do-or-die game against Vietnam
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia is readying itself for a do-or-die match against Vietnam on Saturday night at Bung Karno Stadium in Group A of the Tiger Cup.
Entering Saturday's fixtures, which also includes a game between bottom-of-the-group Cambodia and the Philippines, Indonesia trails Vietnam by two points.
Ivan Kolev's side is in third place with four points, while Vietnam has six points after two matches. Myanmar, which will not be in action on Saturday, tops the group with seven points from three matches.
With Cambodia and the Philippines already out of contention, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia are left to fight it out for the two semifinal spots.
Indonesia must defeat Vietnam. A draw will put it in danger of elimination because its inferior goal margin to Myanmar and Vietnam.
A loss will end not only the team's run in the tournament but could also end Kolev's association with the team, as the Bulgarian himself said.
"We are aware Vietnam is a good match. But we are determined to win the game to stand a good chance of going to the semifinals.
"If we fail in the Tiger Cup I'm ready to quit," he said during a press conference here on Friday.
However, Kolev, who has a one-year contract with the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) and has been with the team for four months, said responsibility for any failure in the tournament would have to be shared by him and the players.
During the press conference, Kolev hinted at a change in strategy against Vietnam, but he refused to elaborate.
He would only say that he was not going to include Elie Aiboy in the starting lineup, which means that Budi Sudarsono is likely to get the nod at midfield.
And Gendut Doni, who has come off the bench in the earlier matches, may get the start against Vietnam.
The 23-year-old Elie has been out of form in his appearances in the Myanmar and Cambodian matches.
Also recognizing the importance of the match, particularly for Indonesia, Vietnam's coach Henrique Calisto said he had told his players to go on the offensive from the start.
In the other game on Saturday, both Cambodia and the Philippines will be looking to secure their first points after suffering drubbings in their previous matches.
Meanwhile, in Group B action in Singapore on Friday, a never- say-die Malaysian side stunned tournament favorite and defending champion Thailand 3-1 to book a semifinal berth, Agence France- Presse reported.
In the upset of the tournament, the Allan Harris coached side came from 1-0 down to outplay and outscore Thailand in a match of vicious tackling in which seven yellow cards were handed out.
Malaysia played their way into the final four by sticking firmly to their tactical script of a zonal game, and exploiting Thailand's defensive weaknesses.
Thailand looked to be on their way to the semifinals with an opening goal in the 23rd minute when Terdsak Chaiman lofted the ball over the wall from a free kick and caught Malaysian goalkeeper Azmin Azram Abdul Aziz moving the wrong way.
Down 1-0, the youthful Malaysians briefly lost their cohesion and nearly let Thailand in twice more before regrouping and scoring an equalizer just before the half.
Thai goalkeeper Kittisak Rawangpa failed to cleanly hold a free kick and the ever present Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli was on the spot to put the loose ball into the back of the net.
Malaysia was on a roll in the second half, and took the lead midway through the spell when captain Tengku Hazman Raja Hassan scored.
With nine minutes remaining Indra Putra Mahyuddin, who had earlier missed a penalty by kicking the ball wide of the goal, redeemed himself by breaching the Thai defense to make the score 3-1.
Thailand were then down to 10 men after Sakda Joemdee was sent off after receiving his second yellow card.
Narongchai Vachihraban, Terdsak Chaiman and Peeratat Phouruandee also received yellow cards for Thailand, as did Natha Kumar Kalliappan and Subri Sulong for Malaysia.