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Indonesia denied a slot at Asian Cup
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JP/J. Adiguna
Indonesia bowed out to Oman 1-2 before the home crowd Wednesday at the 2011 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup pre-qualifying match.
The result put the country at the bottom of Group B with three draws and two defeats of five matches.
The last match against Australia on March 3 would not be decisive.
For the first time since competing at the quadrennial event in 1996, Indonesia — that jointly hosted the 2007 event with Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam — failed to qualify.
Coach Benny Dolo pointed his finger to his players’ physical fitness as the main factor.
“They were not in prime condition today.
“You can check with the players how many days we had to prepare for the match.
“The Indonesian Soccer League competition ended on Dec. 24,” he said.
“The players were too exhausted to play to their full potential.
“But this is not an excuse [for the defeat].”
Oman scored first on the 31st minute after Bait Doorbeen Fawzi received a free kick from Ahmed Hadid.
Banking support from about 40,000 local fans who flocked the Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta, Indonesia’s Boaz Salossa kicked the ball hard to Oman’s goal post, guarded by Ali Al Habsi to tie 1-1.
Seven minutes after the second round began, Ismail Sulaiman scored another goal to allow Oman’s lead 2-1, until referee Subkhiddin M. Saleh of Malaysia blew his whistle.
Benny acknowledged that Oman played much better and faster.
“They can change the playing formation quickly.
“We could match them in the first round but we were too slow,” he said, adding that his players’ physical fitness dropped in the second round.
Oman’s coach, Claude Le Roy of France, praised his players’ performance, saying they had better
technique and strategy than the Indonesians.
“We could fight back in the second round.
“We played much better and quicker,” he said. “I think we deserve to qualify.
“Now we need to focus on facing Kuwait in Muscat [on March 3].”
Kuwait and Australia played later Wednesday. Both countries shared the lead in the group’s standing.
The match was colored by an incident where a supporter entered the pitch minutes before it ended.
The man, Hendri Mulyadi, dribbled the ball into Oman’s goal post but failed to “score”.
“I apologized to my fellow Indonesians for my misconduct.
“I was very disappointed with our team’s performance because it has never won.
“The team has either been defeated or it has tied,” he told kompas.com.
