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ndonesia’s under-23 soccer squad crushed Timor Leste 5-0 during a friendly match at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Despite producing a haul of five goals, scored by Abdulrahman, Ferdinand Sinaga, Patrick Wanggai, Egi Melgiansyah, and Syamsir Alam, the under-23 head coach, Rahmad Darmawan, said there was still room for improvement before Indonesia’s first Southeast Asian (SEA) Games Group A match against Cambodia on Nov. 9.

“Honestly, I’m not so satisfied with our performance today. Our opponents did not play quickly, which made it easier for us to intercept the ball and cover ourselves,” said Rahmad on Tuesday.

“We won but the quality of the performance displayed today was not as good as it was in our previous two friendlies. We will take this game as a lesson in our preparation for the SEA Games,” said Rahmad.

The friendly against Timor Leste was Indonesia’s only international match in preparation for the upcoming tournament.

Last week, the under-23 squad boosted its confidence with two wins from two matches against teams from the top flight of Indonesian soccer. The first was a 5-1 win over Mitra Kukar, followed by a 2-0 win over Persikabo Bogor. An additional friendly will take place against another local club from the top flight, Persikota, at the Krakatau Steel Stadium in Cilegon on Nov. 28.

Against the Timorese, the hosts created their first three goals within 30 minutes of the kick off. On five minutes, Abdulrahman connected with a corner kick to get the hosts off the mark.  

Two minutes later, Ferdinand Sinaga received a pass from midfield and made a solo run that produced another goal, bringing the score to 2-0 for Indonesia.

Minutes later, the hosts were awarded two penalties in quick succession. The first, on 16 minutes, saw Octovianus Maniani felled by Timorese Caetano Telmo. Patrick Wanggai dispatched the penalty perfectly to extend Indonesia’s lead to 3-0.

And then in the 19th minute, Timorese player Constantino Guterres fouled Andik Vermansyah in the penalty area and Indonesian captain Egi Melgiansyah stepped up and wrong-footed Timorese goalkeeper Emerson Cesario, making it 4-0.

Tempers flared when Indonesia’s Diego Michels and Timor Leste’s Antonio Marcos Sosa became embroiled in an argument. Both were penalized with yellow cards.

Syamsir alam made it five for Indonesia in the 71st minute, quickly latching onto Yongki Ariwibowo’s shot from the right side of the Timorese goal.

With heavy rain persisting until deep into the second half, it soon went from bad to worse for the Timorese when the referee sent off Alan Leandro da Silva for a foul on Syamsir.

Timor Leste assistant coach Alex Vongo said: “We have learned more about our weaknesses here, as we conceded goals in the first 20 minutes. We realize Indonesia is a big team.” Vongo said the team was targeting qualification from the group stage of the SEA Games in November by eyeing wins over Brunei, Myanmar and Laos.

Vongo’s men have been gearing up for the Games for the past six months with a series of trial matches against local Indonesian teams and a 16-day intensive training camp, all taking place in Bali. They lost 3-1 to Bali Devata, drew 1-1 with an amateur club and won 2-0 over a selected team.

For the upcoming SEA Games Group A matches, Indonesia will face Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia.

Meanwhile, Timor Leste will begin the competition in Group B and will take on Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, Myanmar and the Philippines.