Indonesia down but not out

Kuala Lumpur - Down but certainly not out. That is the approach Indonesia's coach-cum-manager Peter Withe will be bringing into Monday's Tiger Cup semifinal return leg against Malaysia at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Withe, although surprised that his team trail 1-2 going into the match, nevertheless believes that Indonesia's destiny is still very much in their own hands.

And Indonesia's already impressive firepower will be further boosted by the return of tournament leading scorer Ilham Jaya Kusuma and Boas Salossa. Ilham has six goals to his credit while Boas scored four in the preliminary round.

But as confident as Withe is that his men can turn the tables on Malaysia, he also needs to pick them up as Indonesia are reeling from too much football.

"If you look at our performance (in the first leg), there were a lot of tired players," Withe.

"After travelling back from Vietnam a number of the players had to play two important matches for their clubs. It was a three-way fight for the Indonesian championship so there was a lot of additional pressure on these players.

"Some of our boys played two extra games between the group stage and the first leg of the semi-final and I think it's caught up with them. This is not an excuse but it's a fact of life that you cannot play 90 minutes of football day in and day out."

But Malaysia know that irrespective of how tired Indonesia may be, Withe will ensure his team take to the pitch with their morale high.

In fact, the Englishman pointed out that although Indonesia lost, it was a match which they dominated and were punished the two times they defended sloppily.

And with Ilham and Boas poised to return, Withe has every reason to be optimistic. In the first round, Indonesia scored 17 goals, 10 of which were from the two players.

"The availability of the two (Ilham and Boas) will give me more options. We need that."

And Malaysia need to be solid in their defending as luck alone will not be enough to take them into the final.

The following are the pre-match comments from the coaches of Malaysia and Indonesia ahead of Monday's second leg semifinal tie at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Malaysian coach, Bertalan Bicskei: "Obviously the change in our match has affected our preparations for the semifinals. We were supposed to have trained at Bukit Jalil this evening but with the change, we will probably train there on Sunday. I will check the conditions then. But I do hope that the conditions are better than the last time we played there.

"We would have only had two days to prepare after returning home. But now, we have two extra days and our schedule has changed. For example, yesterday was supposed to be a tactical session but instead we worked on stamina.

"After the win in the first leg, the players are motivated for the next game. Also, playing at home in front of the Malaysian fans will certainly be an advantage for the team.

"I saw Indonesia play last year in the World Cup qualifiers against Yemen. I thought then that they were good and when I saw them three days ago, I was correct. They have good players and are a good team.

"I know they will have their two strikers back ... number 9 and 7 are good players. But in my opinion, I think number 10 is probably of the same level, in fact, technically he's probably the best in the team.

"We had a session on penalties. As the tagline of the tournament says, anything can happen and it's better to be prepared in the event the game goes to the shootout."

Indonesian coach, Peter Withe: "It is a little different now that the match has been moved. The circumstances have changed because of the two extra days. It just so happens that it's New Year but it makes no difference to me. I have been in football for 35 years and never celebrated it. What I'll do is call my wife a minute before midnight tonight and wish her.

"What I'm more concerned about is the state of the pitch. I visited the stadium this morning. You have a magnificent stadium but the surface is not for football it is more suited for golf. The surface is awful ... it's more like a sand field."

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin