SEA GAMES 2011: ROCKING TIME AT SENAYAN AS YOUNG GARUDAS AND TIGERS BATTLE

JAKARTA (16 Nov 2011) – The cheers and jeers at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium will likely be heard throughout the sprawling Senayan Complex when hosts Indonesia take on arch-rivals Malaysia in their last group match tomorrow evening. It’s going to be reminiscent of the AFF Suzuki Cup final which was played out here in December last year.

While the number of fans may not be as large as the AFF Suzuki Cup final, judging from previous matches here involving the home team, the turnout tomorrow will still be huge. They will be screaming their hearts out for their heroes who want to win to top the group and avoid and early showdown with Vietnam in the semifinals. In all, its going to be a great game and the atmosphere may be even louder than a rock concert.

The tremendous home support will go a long way in inspiring the young Garudas to slay the Young Tigers of Malaysia. Other teams like Singapore and Thailand have fallen victim to the intimidating fans. Singapore lost a player in their 2-0 defeat while the Thais had two players red-carded in their 3-1 loss to Indonesia.

It will be interesting to see how the Malaysians fare against this fired up Indonesian side which will be counting on their awesome Papua connection. Patrich Wanggai and Titus Bonai, who have scored four and three goals respectively, are clearly on form and will be aiming to increase their tallies against Malaysia.

Patrich and Titus, along with speedy flanker Okto Maniani, who has a knack of scoring too, will pose a constant threat to the Malaysians especially goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi. The Malaysian custodian, who is also with the national team and faced Indonesia in Senayan previously, knows just what sort of reception to expect tomorrow.

Khairul and his defenders will have to be on full alert and quick to cut off the Indonesian attacks if they hope to walk away with a decent result. Malaysia only need a draw tomorrow to confirm their place in the semis, so winning may not be a priority.

Whatever the case, tomorrow’s match is going to be explosive and the fans can expect a hard-fought game between two rivals. It is only hoped that the security conditions are kept under control so as to not have the incidents of the AFF Suzuki Cup final repeated.

SEA GAMES FIXTURES
GROUP A

CURRENT STANDINGS