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.