RI roars over KL in heated semifinal

RI roars over KL in heated semifinal

Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur

Veteran striker Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto turned in a vintage
performance to lead Indonesia into their third Tiger Cup final,
beating Malaysia 4-1 Monday in a match marred by fighting between
rival supporters.

Indonesia advanced 5-3 on aggregate after losing the first leg
1-2 to Malaysia last week. They will face Singapore in the finals
Saturday of Southeast Asia's premier soccer tournament.

On Monday, Malaysia looked set to move into the finals after
Khalid Jamlus opened scoring in the 27th minute at Kuala Lumpur's
National Stadium, leaving the Indonesians two goals behind on
aggregate by halftime.

Police stepped in to maintain order during the break, when
hot-tempered fans from both sides began hurling bottles and other
objects at each other. Some brawling broke out, but no injuries
were immediately reported.

Kurniawan came on as a substitute in the 57th minute and
immediately turned the tables by scoring just before the one-hour
mark, causing the Indonesians to pile pressure on the Malaysian
side.

Charis Yulianto nodded in a corner kick in the 75th minute,
helped by Kurniawan's speedy runs into the box.

In the 78th minute, Kurniawan brought the ball down, leading
Ilham Jaya Kesuma to swiftly blast it into the goal.

Boas Salossa sealed Indonesia's victory with another easy goal
in the 85th minute.

The match had been delayed two days as a mark of respect for
tens of thousands killed across the region by last week's
earthquake-tsunami aftermath, which hit Indonesia hardest.

Earlier on Monday, Asian soccer's governing body criticized
Myanmar's national team for disciplinary woes that marred its
semifinal match against Singapore.

The Asian Football Confederation was "disappointed with the
poor sportsmanship and the lack of fair play demonstrated in the
Singapore-Myanmar match" played in the city-state Sunday, said
AFC General Secretary Peter Velappan.

"We are ... extremely displeased with the attitude of the
players as well as the Myanmar team officials," Velappan said in
a statement.

Singapore advanced to the Southeast Asian tournament 8-5 on
aggregate after they won the first leg 4-3 Wednesday.

In a 20-minute span, three Myanmar players were sent off for
indiscipline by Japanese referee Kamikawa Toru. They included Moe
Kyaw Thu, who kicked dirt at the referee in dissent.

Reserve keeper Tun Tun Lin was sent off for throwing a water
bottle at a Singapore defender.

The AFC also asked the ASEAN Football Federation to submit an
overall report on the Tiger Cup after being informed of poor
security conditions at a Dec. 28, 2004, match in Jakarta between
Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as match-fixing allegations
during group matches in Vietnam.

"We urge you to conduct an investigation into these
allegations immediately," Velappan said in a letter to the
Southeast Asian soccer organization.