Thailand retains soccer gold in shootout
Thailand retains soccer gold in shootout
By Dwi Atmanta and Budiman Moerdijat
JAKARTA (JP): It was a case of so agonizingly close but oh so
far. With the whole nation watching, Indonesia lost the final of
the 19th Southeast Asian Games men's soccer final, crashing out
2-4 to defending champion Thailand in a penalty shootout
yesterday.
Both teams, who had gone undefeated through the preliminary
group matches, scored one goal each during 90 minutes to leave
the match hanging precariously in the balance.
The 110,000 fanatic home supporters who set the overcrowded
Senayan stadium alight throughout the unrest-interrupted 120-
minute match were not enough to wear out Thailand's nerve.
It was Thailand's third successive title in the biennial
event, and increased its win-loss record against Indonesia to 9-
2.
All four Thai penalty takers, Kiattisuk Senamuang, Kritsada
Piandit, Tawan Sripan and Dusit Chalermsan did everything right
as they clinically executed their penalties, easily beating
restless Indonesian goalkeeper Kurnia Sandy, who obviously felt
the pressure between the sticks.
Substitutes Ronny Wabia and Uston Nawawi, the last two to take
Indonesia's spot kicks, blasted lobs over the bar, to the audible
disappointment of the huge crowd.
It was a sad ending to Indonesia's bid to regain its past
regional supremacy dating back to its gold in 1991 in Manila.
"We were just unlucky. But the final satisfied me very much
because it pit the region's two best teams," Indonesian coach
Henk Wullems said in the post-match conference.
He dismissed criticism that he picked the wrong men for the
nerve-wracking penalty shootout, saying that all his 11 players
were all set for the tie-breaker.
"Penalties is not a matter of how frequent training is, but
how someone manages to maintain the composure," Dutchman Wullems
said.
His Thai counterpart Withaya Laohakul attributed his squad's
success to their penalty-shooting skills. "We have practiced a
lot executing penalties. Besides, we were mentally more ready
than the host team," he said.
The Thais, who formed the winning team in Chiang Mai,
displayed their cool amid a flurry of charges in their goalmouth
instigated by Indonesia's duet of forwards Widodo Cahyono Putro
and Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto.
Overlapping defender Aji Santoso was the real menace on the
left wing, feeding most of the goal-scoring chances into the box.
Bima Sakti gave unceasing support from the midfield, and
sometimes fired his characteristic curled kicks.
The Thais were prone to building up a strong defense but they
paid dividends for the less-attacking game in a counter-attack
inspired by left-wing back Dusit Chalermsan. He fired a long feed
to Worawoot Srimaka who headed the ball inside the box to
Chaichan Khewsen who sped unmarked to tap in a 30th-minute goal.
Indonesia stepped up the pressure, but in-form goalkeeper
Wacharapong Somcit stood firm to keep it at bay. He made at least
two great dives that denied goals for Bima and Kurniawan.
Thailand maintained its 1-0 lead entering the break.
Disappointed fans then started to burn benches and banners,
break down fences and pelt security officers and Thai players
with plastic bottles, forcing the organizing committee to
postpone the second half for 45 minutes.
The National Sports Council chairman, Wismoyo Arismunandar,
had to go down from the stand to calm down the unruly crowd.
Indonesia got off to a brisk start after the match resumed. It
took Kurniawan just 60 seconds to score the equalizer, latching
on to a cross from Widodo just outside the box. It was
Kurniawan's fifth goal in the tournament.
The rest of the match saw victory hungry Indonesians take the
upperhand in midfield, but run out of steam to convert their
chances into goals.
Indonesia made most of the goalmouth action during extra time.
The hosts worked their greatest chance to win the match when
Bima fired a first-time in the 92nd to finish Aji pass. But
Somcit was there to tame the shot.