NT still disappointing despite winning

April 8, 2001

Indonesian national team crushed Maldives 5-0 in their opening match of 2002 World Cup qualifiers at Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Sunday (4/8). A suitable win remembering that the opponents are clearly a few classes below Indonesian squad.

Five goals are spread over five players today. Agung Setyabudi opened the wound through a curling free kick just five minutes after the first whistle before Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto added the second one in the 12th minute. Kurniawan's goal might be the best of the five. A measured pass from him to striking partner Bambang Pamungkas, marked by two defenders, who then passed back to Kurniawan who was making an off-the-ball forward run to the penalty area. Calmly Kurniawan received the ball and coolly he sent the opponent's goalie Imran Muhammad the other way.

There are at least five more great chances for Indonesia inside the first half but none materialized.

Bima Sakti added the third one from penalty kick seven minutes from break. This three-zero situation didn't last long however, as in the 62nd minute a counterattack from the duet of Kurniawan and Bambang added the tally. Attacking midfielder Uston Nawawi received a short pass from Bambang and without any hesitation he shot a hard left-footed kick past the hapless goalie.

Maldives players tried to make some sporadic attacks after the fourth goal, but unfortunately for them, that opened up some space in the back. The 20-year-old striker Bambang Pamungkas made a solo run with the ball past several defenders before netting the ball himself in the 66th minute.

Despite the seemingly excellent win, Indonesian national team is still hit by fierce criticism from many analysts regarding their teamwork and especially their stamina.

Former Indonesian national team striker Ricky Yacobi who was in attendance today said that no matter what kind of play the national team applies in the field, it will be hard to do because the horrible stamina of the players. He said that Indonesia is lucky to face Maldives in the opening match, and if they still play like that against China, then for sure Hendro Kartikoa will have to pick up many balls from the inside the goal.

"How could the players' stamina be that bad? PSSI (Football Association of Indonesia) has to pay a special attention on this matter. Is it because of the qualities of coaches at clubs who don't pay attention to physical fitness, players' nutrition, or the bad scheduling of the league that saps players' strength before training for the national team," said Ricky.

At the same occasion, Indonesian football legend Abdul Kadir added that the teamwork from player to player in the national team is still far from satisfying.

"Time and time again our wingers broke through their defense, but afterwards they got nobody to pass the ball because no player was around or other players were too late to come to capitalize on the chance. Another example, when our player took a corner kick, there were only about two players in the penalty box, making the chance went useless," said the former player of Persebaya Surabaya.

After the match, head coach Benny Dollo offered a comment.

"Stamina is a big problem in my team. The consequence of my direct football play is it takes a lot of stamina. I instruct the players to play modern football with one-two touches. The team is not well-adjusted yet to the play, and the weather is very hot today. I hope the boys will get used to this kind of play very soon."

Meanwhile, Maldives head coach Joseph Jankech admitted that the Red-and-White Squad was the better team.

"Your players have better technical skills than ours. Indonesia played well and the two strikers played tonight were simply superb. We tried to strengthen our defense by changing some players but we still had troubles facing Indonesian strikers," said Joseph.

Referee S. Nagalingam from Singapore gave three yellow cards this evening, one for Indonesia's Uston Nawawi and two for Maldives's Ashraf Luthfy and Husain Lutfee.

Indonesia 5 - Maladewa 0

Goalscorers: Agung Setyabudi 5', Kurniawan 12', Bima Sakti (pen) 52', Uston Nawawi 62', Bambang Pamungkas 67'

First half: 2-0 ;

Referee: S Nagalingm N.S (Singapura)

Players:

Indonesia - Hendro Kartiko, Sugiyantoro, Eko Purdjianto, Ismed Sofyan, Bima Sakti, Uston Nawawi, Yaris Riyadi (Maman), Aples Gideon Tecuari (Warsidi), Agung Setyobudi, Bambang Pamungkas, Kurniawan DJ

Maldives - Imran Mohamed, Adam Abdul Latheef (Shah Ismail), Ashraf Luthfy, Hussain Luthfee (Ibrahim fazeel), Yoosuf Azeem, Mohamed Hussain, Mohamed Ibrahim, Ali Umar, Ali Shiham (Ali Rasheed), Mohamed Jameel

from PSSI Website (4/8/01) and BolaNews Sportsline (4/8/01)