SLIM WIN FOR INDONESIA

The only goal in the game came off a penalty early in the 12th minute which was converted by prodigal striker Bambang Pamungkas.

The decision to pair Bambang with Aliyudin showed a lot more variety in the Indonesian attack and in the ninth minute, Bambang came close with a header which narrowly missed the Vietnam upright.

Several minutes later, Vietnam conceded a penalty when referee Abas Daud penalised the Vietnam defence for an unnecessary foul on Aliyudin.

Bambang did not stutter and duly converted the spot kick for Indonesia to go one up in front of an almost sell-out crowd.

But in spite of their possession, Indonesia failed to add to their tally in the first half while Vietnam did not grab the chance to make the difference after the break.

“Sure we won the match but this team is still inconsistent and they could not control the rhythm of the game,” said Indonesian head coach Benny Dollo after the match.

“Vietnam were able to defend collectively and they also pressed their opponents well. The players will return to their club after this and where they will return for their next friendly in over a month.”

In the meantime, Vietnam head coach Henrique Calisto admitted that he was disappointed with the results where he felt that the decision of the referee in giving away the penalty was not right.

“I think that the referee was wrong with that decision – it was not a penalty,” said Calisto.

“But it does not matter, it is only a friendly. We have achieved our target in coming here where in the second half, we had more of the possession, around 80%. But our finishing is still lacking although I must say that I have this team for only two weeks and we should be a lot better in the months to come.”

Last week, Malaysia held Indonesia to a 1-1 draw.