RI's Olympic soccer team beats Cambodia

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's pre-Olympics soccer team overwhelmed the Cambodian national team, with a definitive victory of 4-0 in the second of two friendly matches held at the Senayan Stadium on Tuesday.

Indonesia produced two goals from penalty kicks in the 12th and 56th minutes by midfielders Haryanto Prasetyo and Uston Nawawi respectively.

A tricky short pass from Haryanto enabled midfielder Imran Nahumaruri to net the ball in the 49th minute.

In the 73rd minute, striker Ilham Jaya Kesuma sealed the team's victory with his goal, after cutting off Cambodian defender Choun Maline's backpass to goalkeeper Nhem Bunthon.

Cambodian coach J. Fickert complimented Indonesia's performance, admitting that his team had lost their competitive edge displayed in the 19th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

"Your team played better against mine, which is not as strong as it was two years ago. Our team is no longer powerful... your team has made more progress," he said after the match.

The Cambodia team is currently training for the 20th SEA Games in Brunei Darussalam in August. It tied 1-1 with Indonesia's team in the first match at the Lebak Bulus Stadium in South Jakarta on Sunday.

Chairman of the All-Indonesian Soccer Federation Agum Gumelar, said the national team improved their teamwork during the match.

"In the first half, the players were uncertain in passing the ball. (This attitude) produced careless balls which were easily taken over by our opponents. Luckily, our athletes managed to improve in the second half."

Indonesia is currently training 24 pre-Olympics soccer team members, comprising under-23 players from various clubs throughout the nation.

Eighteen out of the 24 players will be selected after the tryout. They will compete in the five-day Quadrangular Tournament for Olympic teams at Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, which will also serve as a warmup for the pre-qualifying round of the 2000 Olympics in May. (ivy)