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Jakarta: Cristian Gonzales capitalised on a defensive mix-up to give
Indonesia a narrow advantage over the Philippines in the first leg of
their AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final on Thursday.
The Uruguay-born striker headed the only goal of the game after
goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and full-back Ray Jonsson had got in each
other's way in the 32nd minute at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
It proved to be the only real lapse by the Filipino defence who
defended heroically throughout the evening. But it was enough to give
the Indonesians a precious lead to take into the return match at the
same venue on Sunday.
The partisan home crowd of 70,000 created a deafening roar as the game
kicked off but the Philippines showed few signs of nerves early on
despite the intimidating atmosphere.
Gonzales put a weak shot wide in the opening minute but the first real
Indonesian chance only arrived after 10 minutes when Oktovianus
Maniani gave the ball to an overlapping Mohammad Nasuha, who cut the
ball back from the left for Gonzales whose close range attempt went
straight at Etheridge.
The Philippines were solid defensively in the early stages and created
a few chances of their own. On 14 minutes, Phil Younghusband drilled a
low shot from the edge of the Indonesian box that goalkeeper Markus
Harison turned out for a corner.
Midway through the first half, Phil's elder brother James created a
fine opening for himself. He turned brilliantly away from a challenge
by Muhammad Ridwan on the left flank and ran unchallenged before
unleashing a vicious low swerving shot from 25 metres that Harison did
well to parry. Ian Araneta attempted to pounce on the rebound but was
flagged for offside
The Philippines competed well for the first half-hour, allowing the
Indonesians few real scoring opportunities. But having gone nearly
four hours without conceding a goal in the tournament, their composure
finally cracked after a fatal defensive mix-up.
There appeared to be little danger when Firman Utina swung in a deep
cross from midfield to the right of the Filipino box. But Etheridge
and Jonsson got in each other's way and the ball fell nicely for a
lurking Gonzales, who placed his cushioned header into the unguarded
net.
The goal ignited the Indonesian crowd and the home side turned up the
pressure for the rest of the half.
The Filipino defence had recovered their poise though and Alexander
Borromeo made a great defensive header to clear a dangerous cross by
Muhammad Ridwan before it could reach Irfan Bachdim or Gonzales.
Jonsson then made up for his earlier lapse with a good challenge to
deny Irfan before he could fire a shot on target.
Eleven minutes into the second half, Robert Gier produced the tackle
of the game with a sliding challenge to stop Gonzales as he bore down
on the Philippines goal after being released by Irfan's through ball.
The Indonesians continued to plug away throughout the second half only
to be turned away time after time by the Filipino defence, which put
in some fine last-ditch tackles to deny the Indonesians a clear change
against Etheridge.
The visitors themselves had few real chances but they nearly drew
level after an Indonesian defensive mix-up in the 75th minute. Maman
Abdurachman got in the way of Harison as the goalkeeper attempted to
gather the ball on the edge of the box and the loose ball fell to
James Younghusband who fired a bicycle kick towards goal. Fortunately
for the Indonesians, Zulkifly Syukur was alert to the danger and
heroically headed the ball off his goalline.
Bambang Pamungkas came on as a substitute and broke into the box in
the 80th minute only to be forced wide by Etheridge. The striker was
still able to put in a cross from the left but it flew just over the
head of Gonzales.
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