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Garuda Muda team marches on with 2-0 win over Brunei
Unstoppable: Indonesia U-23 soccer player Ahmad Nufiandani (upper left) beats Brunei Darussalam goalkeeper Ahsanuddin (center) during the Group H qualifying round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup at the Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, on Sunday
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span class="caption">Unstoppable: Indonesia U-23 soccer player Ahmad Nufiandani (upper left) beats Brunei Darussalam goalkeeper Ahsanuddin (center) during the Group H qualifying round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup at the Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, on Sunday. Indonesia won 2-0. JP/Awo
Indonesia's U-23 soccer team gave a promising performance in its Group H qualifying round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup with a victory against Brunei Darussalam 2-0 at the Bung Karno Stadium on Sunday.
Ending the first half in a scoreless draw, the Garuda Muda team kicked off the second half more aggressively.
Indonesian midfielder Paulo Sitanggang, an alumnus of the AC Milan Junior Camp in 2011, fired several attacks that were received by Ilham Udin. Unfortunately Ilham's strong kick was blocked by Brunei goalkeeper Ahsanuddin.
Paulo replaced the team's spearhead, Evan Dimas, who suffered an injury in the opening round against Timor Leste the day before.
'It was quite exhausting because Brunei's defense is difficult to penetrate. Almost all their players stand on guard in their box,' coach Aji Santoso said after the match as quoted by kompas.com.
'I told my players that they have to be patient. If we don't score a goal by the 55th minute, I plan to send out two strikers,' he added.
In the wake of the 0-0 draw in the first half, Aji replaced Hendra Bayauw with Muchlis Hadi Ning in the 58th minute and Ilham Udin with Wawan Febriyanto four minutes later. The strategy proved to be effective as attacks by the host side became more accurate.
It was more like a one-sided match in the second half after Ahmad Nufiandani fired the opening goal for the host in the 70th minute followed by a second goal by Muchlis Hadi Ning Syaifulloh in the 88th.
It was the team's second victory after previously crushing Timor Leste 5-0 on Saturday.
The double wins earned Indonesia six points and placed it at the top of group H. South Korea is in second position with three points after crushing Brunei 5-0 on Friday. Brunei is third while the bottom team, Timor Leste, was slated to face the Korean team, which had the upper hand, later on Sunday.
On cloud nine: Ferrari's German driver Sebastian Vettel celebrates on the podium after winning the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang on Sunday.
