Singapore struggles for victory over Laos

SONGKHLA, Thailand (Agencies): Defending champion Singapore was made to struggle here Thursday for its 3-0 victory over a gritty Laos team to notch up its second win in the preliminary Group B match of the Tiger Cup on Thursday.

Earlier, Malaysia defeated Cambodia 3-2 and will face Singapore in a decisive match for a semifinal berth on Saturday.

Singapore was expected to win the clash easily at the Tinsulanon Stadium but Laos had other ideas and was unlucky not to put away at least two goals.

Laos, in its best performance to date in the competition, defended in numbers to limit Singapore to only three goals, an improvement on the five goals it conceded in its first match against Malaysia.

Singapore, as expected, dominated from the start and was rewarded with an early goal in the 8th minute through Mohamed Rafi Mohamed Ali who sent in a powerful header from a left field cross.

Eight minutes later captain Mohamed Nazri Nasir saw his header sail just wide of the lefthand post but Singapore finally made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute.

Mohamed Noor Mohamed Ali chipped a perfect pass to skipper Nasir and he made no mistake with his shot.

Laos did create some chances but never really looked like scoring in the first half.

However in the second half the footballing minnows matched its opponent's skills and troubled it with some dangerous moves.

Cambodia, down 0-3, gave Malaysia some anxious minutes when Pok Chantan scored in the 73rd minute. In the 86th minute, skipper Hok Sochetra converted a penalty, awarded after B. Rajnikandh brought him down, to make it 2-3.

But the Malaysians played out the remanning time without conceding any ground to clinch the hard-fought victory.

Malaysia began well with a 20th minute lead after Azman Adnan converted a penalty. It was awarded when Hairuddin Omar's head toward the goal struck a defender's hand and referee Hidayat Sudrajat pointed to the spot.

The second goal came in the 47th minute, coming off Hairuddin's head after Rajnikandh had swung in a perfect cross from the left.

The third goal arrived in the 62nd minute through skipper Ahmad Sharul Azhar with a stupendous shot form 20 meters out.

RI vs Thai

In Jakarta, it will be Indonesia's 35th encounter with Southeast Asian perennial soccer powerhouse Thailand when both teams meet in the Group A match at 700th Anniversary stadium in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Friday.

Indonesia has won 14 of 35 matches with three draws and 18 losses.

With a record of two Southeast Asian (SEA) Games championships, two times qualified for the Asian Cup and having never reached the Tiger Cup final, Indonesia is believed by many to be no match for favorite Thailand, which has won nine SEA Games titles, four times qualified for the Asian Cup and champion of 1996 Tiger Cup.

But Indonesia has refused to bow to the pundits and will challenge Thailand for the semifinals berth. Should Indonesia tie with Thailand, Indonesia would need another tie with Myanmar on Sunday to advance to the top four.

National team coach Nandar Iskandar said in teleconference here on Thursday that Thailand was not as strong as when it played in the Asian Cup final last month. However, he has instructed his team to mark all the Thai players carefully.

"We have to win over Thailand to be the group champion. We will try to avoid drawing with Thailand."

"Thailand played much better in Lebanon where it performed without pressure so the players could develop their skills. But they have looked very tense here. Maybe it's because of the home crowd expecting them to win."

"It doesn't mean that they are powerless. We must play cautiously against them," he said.

Nandar said he will consider fielding duo Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto and either young player Gendut Doni Christiawan or Miro Baldo Bento in the front.

"I might field Gendut Doni as striker because he played well against the Philippines Monday."

Nandar said he had picked Hendro Kartiko as the goalkeeper. Sugiantoro will defend along with Ismet Sofyan, Budiman or team captain Aji Santoso.

In the midfield, Nandar puts Bima Sakti as playmaker ahead of Suwandi HS and Eko Purjianto. Seto Nurdiantoro plays as the left side wing back while Uston is on the right.

Hendro told the media teleconference that he was prepared to defend his goal against Thai's bombardment. However, he said he had observed that Indonesia's defense was less solid.

"There is almost no communication between the three defenders," he said.

Nandar did not comment on this, but said: "The defense zone is our main focus."

In Chiang Mai, AFP reported Nandar and Thailand's English coach, Peter Withe, agreed Friday's match would be tough physical encounter.

But Withe remained cautious about talking up his team's chances too much.

"They will be going against us at a hundred percent," he warned.

Besides, Thai skipper and veteran defender Surachai Jirasirichote, who strained his left knee in the match against Myanmar, still might not be ready for action.

"I would rate his chances as 60-40 right now, and after tomorrow morning's session we will know for sure," Withe said.

"But its fortunate that I have 17 fit players who all want to play. And for a coach that's a good thing," he added. (ivy)