Indonesia ends Azkals' storybook run

This appears in the Monday, December 20, 2010 edition of the Business Mirror.

Indonesia ends Azkals' storybook run

by rick olivares

JAKARTA—The Philippines’ storybook run in the 2010 Suzuki Cup ended when Indonesian striker Cristian Gonzales volley from way out of the box beat keeper Neil Etheridge for a 1-nil win in match two of the semifinal duel Sunday night at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium.

And with a 2-0 aggregate score, the Indonesians advanced to finals against Malaysia on December 29. The Malaysians beat Vietnam, 2-0, in their first semifinal duel, then forced the Vietnamese to a scoreless draw Saturday.

The Azkals, as the Filipino team is nicknamed, needed to beat Indonesia by two goals in order to advance. But the overachieving team, which surprised Singapore, Vietnam and Myanmar in the group stages to advance to the semifinals for the first time in tournament history, had trouble getting the ball up field against Indonesia’s defenders who swarmed all over Phil Younghusband and Ian Araneta.

The Indonesians, again playing in front of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Megawati Sukarnoputri, did not disappoint. They dominated play from the opening whistle despite missing starting playmaker Bachdim Ifran, who was out due to an injury. Substitute Yongky Ari Bowo, who had not played a minute in the tournament, carried well in the match.

Gonzales had two attempts at goal before he found the back of the net in the 43rd minute.

The Philippines had problems clearing the ball almost all game long as the Merah Putih—the Indonesian team—played the long ball in beating the Philippines’ back four.

The home side, who scored a tournament best 15 goals, had four offside calls in the first half as they continuously pressured the Filipinos who had trouble sustaining their attack.

The Azkals’ best opportunity came in the 68th minute when Chris Greatwich’s header sailed above the crossbar. Rather than park a bus in front of their goal, the Indonesians stepped up the pressure to the very end.

“The Philippines is good. They need more time to play together. More experience. The semifinal is already a huge achievement for them. Before, when you played the Philippines, you know that you [were] getting a sure win,” said Indonesia’s head coach Alfred Riedl. “They were tough to play, our toughest opponent this tournament.”

Another overflow crowd of more than 80,000 packed the Gelano Bung Karno Stadium to watch the home team advance to the finals and play for its first international title since the 1991 Manila Southeast Asian Games.

“No one expected us to go this far,” said the Philippines’ English head coach Simon McMenemy before the match. “The reward here is we raised the sport in the Philippines and earned the respect of everyone else in Southeast Asia.”