A brave Indonesian side nearly fought out a great draw with the title favorites Saudi Arabia in fabulous style on Saturday, but a lucky last-gasp header from Saad Al Harthi broke the fairytale ruthlessly.
The Saudi substitute forward capitalized the golden chance after a last-second freekick to seal the 2-1 victory at the 2007 Asian Cup.
In the fully packed 80,000-seat Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, President of the Republic of Indonesia Dr. H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presence has greatly boosted Indonesia's morale.
After a exchange of missed clear chances of the two sides, skipper Yasser Al Qahtani put the Saudis ahead in the 12th minute when he jumped high inside the area to fire a bullet header to beat keeper Yandri Christian Pitoy following Ahmed Al Bahri's well-curved right wing cross.
The hosts were undaunted nevertheless. They launched quick attacks from time to time and their efforts told eight minutes later with a cool goal.
Midfielder Elie Aiboy rounded the goal keeper Yasser Al Mosailem and made a calm touch to dodge the last defender before tapped in the empty net, following forward Budi Sudarsono's aggressive interception in front of the box.
The equalizer greatly strengthened the Indonesians' confidence, and they gradually controlled the game with fluent short passes and threatening fast forays down the two flanks. Elie Aiboy's 43th minute cunning nearly zero angle chip came within a whisker to score, but Yaser Al Mosailem tipped over the ball with high concentration.
Indonesia converted the first 20 minutes of the second half to a totally lop-sided period with impressive midfield work and high spirit. The Saudis had to pull back and make passive clearance from their own box.
Coach Hello Cesar Dos Ajnos brought some substitutes then and changed the awkward situation. Midfielder Abdulrahman Al Qahtani's close range shot and Malek Maaz's sharp header forced Yandri two nice saves.
Maman Abdurachman made a crucial slide to clear Yasser Al Qahtani's dangerous solo run inside the box on 80th minutes. The heartbreaker three minutes into injury time just could not deny the Indonesian warriors' respectable efforts.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article