JAKARTA (24 Aug 2011) – Indonesia had to come back from a goal down before they were able to thump Palestine 4-1 in the friendly that was played at the Manahan Stadium in Solo.
With the score tied at the end of the first half, it was the visiting Palestinean side who carved the lead off Sulaiman Obad in the 48th minute.
But the Indonesians did not lose shape in front for Hariono to slam in a 64th minute equaliser before Cristian Gonzalez (pix) then gave the home fans something to cheer with the lead in the six minutes later.
Veteran striker Bambang Pamungkas then made sure of the win for Indonesia with a brace off goals in the 78th and 85th.
The win however failed to impress Indonesia chief coach Wim Rijsbergen, who felt that there were still aspects in their game which needed improvements.
“In the first half, the concentration of the players was not at a level where they should be and they made a lot of mistakes. If the players can minimize mistakes and lay to instruction then we can be a lot better,” added Wim.
“The players also have the tendency to be very individualistic and seem to be hasty in going forward.”
But nevertheless, Wim feels that the win over Palestine has given Indonesia the right motivation for their clash against Iran in the opening Group E match of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
“Iran have strong players, but we are not afraid. We have to prepare the team mentally. We still have a friendly match against Jordan coming up and we will see how the team has developed then,” added Wim.
