Vietnam vs Indonesia

PJ_Quek SG

Vietnam and Indonesia go for broke

Hanoi The winner of Saturdays Group A clash between Indonesia and Singapore is all but guaranteed a place in the semi-finals of the Tiger Cup.

While Indonesia coach Peter Withe and his counterpart Edson Tavares have been trying to play down the significance of the game, suggesting, somewhat unconvincingly it has to be said, that defeat would not spell the end of the eithers side interest in the competition, the fact remains that there is awful lot riding on the outcome.

Indonesia and Vietnam currently top the table, with four points each from their two games. Singapore are in third place with two points but should collect another six points from their remaining games against Laos and Cambodia.

A loss for either Indonesia and Vietnam would make it mathematically impossible for them to get to the eight-point mark, meaning an early exit from the competition should Singapore see off the group's makewights.

A draw would on Saturday would not be disastrous but neither Tavares nor Withe would like to see the fate of their campaign rest on goal difference, the first tie-breaker used by competition organisers if teams are level on points at the end of the group stage.
Vietnam go into the game buoyed by a 9-1 defeat of Cambodia on Thursday night and a full house at the My Dinh National Stadium will certainly add to the sense of occasion and should inspire Tavares charges to go for the win this football-crazy country craves so much.

The Brazilian, as you would expect from someone who hails from Rio de Janeiro, is a keen advocate of the beautiful game but admits that his principles may have to be sacrificed in tomorrows game.

I like to see football played well because I think the fans like to see the game played in nice way, said the 48-year-old.

But at the same time, I know that there are some games where you have to accept that winning is more important than the way you play and I suppose that the game against Indonesia is one of those games when you have to be pragmatic, not idealistic.

Having said that, I guarantee that we will not seek to play any defensive football to carve out a draw. One point is not good enough for us to confirm our berth into the semi-finals.

Tavares, in his second spell as Vietnam coach, knows that Indonesias strength lies in their ability to attack down the flanks but he will have taken heart from the way Singapore denied Alie Aboy and Boas Salossa space in which to opearate.

The Brazilian is conscious, however, that copying Singapores pressing style may not be so effective at the National Stadium where the pitch is significantly larger than the Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Ci Minh City.

Tavares, who has also coached in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and China, as well as in Brazil and Chile, will wait until tomorrow evening before naming his name, but Le Cong Vinh, who scored a hat-trick against Cambodia, Nguyen Manh Dung and Pham Van Tai Em have knocks and are doubtful.

Withe will pick from a full squad and is unlikely to make major changes, despite seeing his charges turn in somewhat muted performance against Singapore on Thursday night.

The Englishman will be hoping that a day spent travelling from Ho Chi Minh City up to Hanoi will not have too disruptive an effect his players.

Vietnam are the hosts, they are playing at home in front of their fans so if you look at the books then they should win the game, said the man who is chasing his third Tiger Cup triumph following wins with Thailand in 2000 and 2002.

Vietnam like to pass the ball and we like to pass the ball so it promises to be an interesting contest between two passing teams.

Like his counterpart Tavares, Withe will field a young team for the game but the one-time England striker has no reservations about their ability.

This Indonesia side is still at a very raw stage at this time, he said. The players I have picked are the players I have had a chance to see.

I havent had the chance to see all the players in Indonesia as I have only been in charge for six months and there might be better players out there. But this is the strongest squad I could pick of the players I have seen and I believe that these are the right players to represent Indonesia.

The game kicks off at 19.30 local time.

PJ_Quek SG

Tavares blasts Vietnam defence

Le Huynh Duc failed to find the net against Cambodia [Stanley Chou/WSG]

HO CHI MINH CITY Despite watching his side hammer Cambodia 9-1 the second highest win in Tiger Cup history after Indonesias 13-1 defeat of the Philippines in 2002 Vietnam coach Edson Tavares still had some harsh words for his defenders.

I told my team at half-time if they score again I would go home, said the Brazilian, who was understandably less then pleased at the slack marking that allowed Hang Soukunthea to score for Cambodia with a well taken 44th minute drive following a corner-kick.

Having dominated the opening half, Tavares would have been raging that the score was only 2-1 to the home side at the interval, but a second-half onslaught had the 48-year-old focusing on the short trip to Hanoi and not the long-haul to South America.

During the past three months our preparations have been very good from a scientific and technical point of view and if the team plays at the level we played in the second half then I dont have to worry about Indonesia or Singapore.

Despite the fact that the victory eclipsed their 9-2 win over the Cambodians at the 2002 Tiger Cup, the demanding Vietnamese press where still keen to find flaws in the demolition done on their Indo-China neighbours.

And once again, it was veteran campaigner Le Huynh Duc that was the target of their wrath.

With the porous Cambodian defence being seemingly breeched at will, it was surprising that the 32-year-old couldnt find the two goals that would take him above Worrawoot Srimakas Tiger Cup record of 15.

At the post-match press conference the question was raised that it may be time for someone else to take over from the Da Nang forward in the starting 11, particularly 20-year-old Haiphong striker Dang Van Than, who scored twice after replacing defender Nguyen Manh Dung in the 65th minute.

Every time you guys [the Vietnamese reporters] talk about a players age and its not about their age its about the way they perform.

After an uninspiring performance Huynh Duc was taken off after 74 minutes, making way for 18-year-old Dong Thap forward Phan Thanh Binh, as Tavares went for the jugular.

It might be that the games against Cambodia make the difference in who gets through to the semi-finals, so thats why we had to score a number of goals, said the Brazilian.

Their defenders were very tired which is why I put Van Than on and played three strikers in a 3-4-3 formation.

Fatigue, both mental and physical, was perhaps the only explanation Cambodias shell-shocked coach Som Saran could offer for his sides woeful capitulation and Sun Samprathas bizarre own goal, which in the five-tournament history ranks second only to Indonesias Mursyid Effendi, whose deliberate own goal in the 3-2 defeat to Thailand in the 1998 Tiger Cup at least had some purpose.

I also cant believe what he did, Saran said of the 21-year-olds well-placed side-foot into the wrong net that put Cambodia 4-1 down.

He was just trying to put the ball out but his technique was all wrong.

For Saran, there was also little that could be said about the defeat, except that the 57-year-old, who was in the Cambodia side that reached the 1972 Asian Cup semi-finals, will go back to the drawing board for their next match against Laos.

Laos is at a similar level to Cambodia and of course we will go out for the win. Every team has their strengths and weaknesses and we will prepare for the next match looking to do much better.

Cambodia meet Laos in the match that is likely to determine who avoids finishing bottom of the group on Saturday at the My Dinh Stadium. The match kicks off at 17:00hrs local time and is followed by the crucial Indonesia-Vietnam clash at 19:30hrs.

PJ_Quek SG

A game of two halves, agree coaches

HO CHI MINH CITY - Both Indonesia coach Peter Withe and his Singapore counterpart Raddojko Avramovic concur that their 0-0 at the Thong Nhat Stadium was the proverbial game of two halves.

It was a game of two halves really and sometimes it got very frustrating, lamented Withe, whose Indonesia side went in to the game against the Lions brimming with confidence having taken apart Laos in their Group A opener.

At half time I made a few harsh remarks to the players, as I felt we didnt create our first real chance until the 38th minute. I was very disappointed with the way we played in the first half but all credit to Singapore.

The former England international felt that it was his sides inability to deal with the strategy of the 1998 Tiger Cup champions that made it difficult for his players to repeat the same attacking verve they displayed against Laos.

We have to learn to play against different systems. We didnt handle the way Singapore played in the first half and they put us under pressure with long balls and cross field passes, he lamented.

I am never happy with a draw as I always want to win. We could have been a goal down in the first half but we had two or three good chances in the second.

It would have been better if it was 3-3 rather than 0-0 as at least it would have been more exciting. But I guess it was a fair result if you look at both halves.

Avramovic painted a similar picture when it was his turn to address the post-match press conference.

This was a game of two halves, said the Serbo-Montenegrin, whose Singapore side defeated Indonesia 2-0 in a friendly back in September in what was Withes first game in charge with the senior side.

We were very disciplined in the first half and created two good opportunities but in the end we were lucky to survive the two chances they had near the end. Both teams wanted to win.

With Laos and Cambodia providing the next opponents for Singapore, it was assumed that Avramovic would be very satisfied with the draw, particularly after taking a point against the other Group A heavyweights Vietnam in their opening match of the 2004 Tiger Cup.

The 55-year-old former Kuwait Olympic coach, however, was not getting carried away.

Whether the draw was good or not good for us we will see later on. We must win both our next games and it might be the number of goals scored that makes the difference in the end. If Vietnam beat Indonesia then it will be a different story.

Group A matches continue on Saturday when the action shifts to Hanois My Dinh National Stadium. Laos take on Cambodia in the battle of the basement at 17:00hrs local time, before the crucial Vietnam-Indonesia clash at 19:30hrs.

PJ_Quek SG

Withe delights in Indonesia's six appeal

HO CHI MINH CITY Indonesia coach Peter Withe was full of praise for the clinical way his side saw off Laos in the opening game of the Tiger Cup 2004, but the Englishman admitted the teams defence would have to improve if they wish to mount a serious title challenge.

Two goals apiece from Boas Salossa and Ilham Jaya Kesuma, and one each from man of the match Elie Aiboy and Kurniwan Yulianto got the Tiger Cup 2002 runners-up off to a winning start, leaving Withe with plenty to smile about.

I have to praise my players for the way they took their chances, the former Thailand coach said after the game.

All credit to our attackers because they made six or seven chances and scored six goals. That is reward for not taking their foot off the gas and giving 100 per cent, which you have to do these days because the gap is narrowing between all the teams in this competition.

The fact that Laos lost 5-1 to Indonesia the last time they met in the Tiger Cup, back in 1996, might suggest the minnows are still out of their depth at this level but for the first 25 minutes of the game, honours were very much even.

They gave us some real problems early on, admitted Withe. They played well and created some real panic in our defence.

But, at this level, you have to take your chances, and they didnt make the most of their early pressure and paid for it.

Bounlap Khenkitisacks team certainly had the better of the opening exchanges and only an acrobatic save from Hendro Kartiko after 11 minutes prevented Chalana Luang-Amath from opening the scoring.

Ten minutes later, Laos had an even better chance to go ahead, but Visay Phaphouvanin failed to get his head to Sengphet Thongphachans free-kick with the goal at his mercy.

Indonesia weathered the storm and were ahead on 27 minutes when Elie skipped past his marker on the right and whipped in a cross which Boas headed home.

Elie was the provider two minutes later, his deep cross finding Ilham whose first shot was blocked but he made no mistake with the follow-up.

Indonesia scored their third on 34 minutes. Ilham scoring his second after the Laos keeper failed to hold on to low drive from Ortisan Salossa, the rampaging left back.

Goals in the second half from Boas, Elie and Kurniwan late on sealed the win for Indonesia.

I said before the game that we wanted to get a point from this game but I think my players preferred to go for the win, said the Laos coach after the game.

We played well at the beginning but because we didnt get the goal, my players were too committed to attack which encouraged Indonesia to counter-attack.

They are a good side though and have some strong, direct players. My players will have learnt from this game that sometimes you shouldnt be too ambitious.

Withe, who he intended to talk a few things through with his defence before the game with Singapore, reserved special praise for wide midfielder Elie, whose pace, power and passing proved too much for Laos.

I saw him play before I took charge of the national team and I saw a lot of potential, said Withe.

He has worked really hard in training on his final pass and crossing and I think today we saw the fruits of that work. He created many openings for others players and caused problems himself.

Thats exactly what you want from a wide player. He was our best player over 90 minutes for sure.

PJ_Quek SG

PRE-MATCH QUOTES ON THE VIETNAM-INDONESIA MATCH

HANOI (Dec 10, 2004) - The following are the quotes from the coach involved in the Vietnam versus Indonesia match in Group A of the Tiger Cup at My Dinh Stadium here tomorrow.

Edson Tavares, head coach of the Vietnam team: We have prepared our team for the whole competition and not just separately for each member of the group.

In the match against Cambodia, my team played well in the second half and that is the way I like them to play.

I think teams in the competition have to worry about Vietnam and not we worry about the others. We are the hosts and we enjoy the home advantage.

I dont believe in playing for a draw. And I dont think Hanois cooler weather is going to be an advantage to us.

Whether we play in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi wont make a difference in terms of the weather conditions.

Indonesia have got some good individual players but also have a few. It will be a good game.

Peter Withe, head coach of the Indonesian team: I think we are in for an interesting match. Of course the advantage is to the home team. Vietnam ought be favoured to win given that advantage.

I think our team played well in the second half of the match against Singapore yesterday. They nearly won the match in the final stages of that match.

I prefer my team to play in cooler weather. It is better to go from warm weather to cooler weather.

I worry about every team but I do not fear any of them. We are not frightened.