SURABAYA (25 Feb 2012) – The loss was heart wrenching and there was an air if dissension on Aji Santoso, the carateker coach of the Indonesia national team, immediately after watching his side concede a 1-0 loss to a determined Persebaya Surabaya side last night at the Gelora Bung Tomo Surabaya Stadium.
Indonesia went down off a second half penalty from Octavia Duta in the 61st minute of play. Aji said afterwards that the loss was partly due to the short training period and the unavailability of several players.
“We only had six days with the players and even then, we only had one day when all the players were there together, so cohesion is a problem,” said Aji at the post match press conference.
“It is impossible to organise the structure and the playing system all in six days. Defence, set piece, attacking, finishing, organisation and other aspects need time.
The team will leave for Bahrain for their last qualifying Group E match in the 2014 World Cup tomorrow.
