YANGON (16 Dec 2013) – Indonesia advanced to the SEA Games men’s football semifinals at the expense of hosts Myanmar after Alfin Ismail Tuasalamony converted a penalty in the first half of the deciding Group B match at the Youth Training Centre here in Yangon tonight.
The penalty awarded in the 36th minute after goalkeeper Pya Phyo Aung brought down Alfin in the box, dashed Myanmar’s hopes of a dream finish in the blue-ribband event of the SEA Games.
Myanmar, down to 10-men after Ye Ling Aung was sacked in the 88th minute, could not recover and were forced to make an early exit.
Although Myanmar have a better goal difference, the competition rules, which are in line with AFC’s regulations, provides that in the event both teams are tied on points, the team that wins the match between the two will be judged the winner.
Thailand, who were held to a 0-0 draw in the earlier match against Cambodia, top the group with eight points. Indonesia and Myanmar have seven points each.
The line-up for the semifinals however are not yet certain as only Singapore have qualified from the other group. Malaysia and Vietnam will do battle tomorrow which will decide the final standings.
In the tonight’s match, the fans were stunned for a second but soon heaved a sigh of relief in the 11th minute. That was after a lovely 1-2 exchange between Bayu Gatra Sanggiawan and fellow striker Fandi Emo Utama almost ended with a goal.
Bayu, from a few feet from the touchline, drove his low shot in which went through the legs of goalkeeper Pyae Phyo Aung. But luck did not favour Indonesia and the ball swept right across the goalmouth.
But in the 36th minute, the 30,000 Myanmar fans in the stadium and a further 20,000 plus watching on big screens outside the stadium fell silent as Alfin Ismail popped his penalty kick into bottom right corner.
Indonesia were awarded the shot kick after Phyo Aung brought down Alfin.
Fandi had another whiff at goal two minutes from the break but his close range shot swerved left. Earlier, Myanmar created some early moves but never quite got their shots in.
With 45 minutes left to get the all-important equaliser, the Myanmar players threw everything they had at their opponents.
And for the better part of the half, it was Myanmar who did all the attacking. Their efforts however were undone by poor finishing in front of goal.
In the last 15 minutes, Myanmar had four clear openings, three shots were skied while Kaung Si Thu blew the best chance of all when he missed heading in a freekick from inside the six-yard box in the 78th minute.
With time running out and the pressure intensifying, Myanmar’s Ye Lin Aung was given the red card for a tough tackle.
Indonesian coach Rachmad Darmawan was thankful for his team’s performance tonight.
“Today the boys played very well. They played with good character and maintained their composure,” added Rahmad.
“They also covered their opponents very well throughout the game.”
GROUP B FINAL STANDINGS
|
Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
| THAILAND |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
3 |
+5 |
8 |
| INDONESIA |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
−1 |
7 |
| MYANMAR |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
3 |
+4 |
7 |
| TIMOR LESTE |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
8 |
−3 |
4 |
| CAMBODIA |
4 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
−5 |
1 |
*Teams in bold qualify for semi-finals
** Indonesia make the semi-finals based on head-to-head result
