There was no triumphant return for Datuk K. Rajagobal tonight when his ASEAN All-Stars side fell to a 1-0 loss to the Indonesian national team in a Charity Fund Raising match that was held at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium tonight.
Despite having the lion’s share of the possession, the Indonesian national team failed to make most of it count as they scored the only goal of the game early in the 13th minute off a corner from Zulham Zamrun that was headed in by Talaohu Abdul Mushafry that ricocheted off Safiq Rahim.
“I was very impressed with what was shown by the players,” said Rajagobal. “This considering that we did not have much together and really had just one day of training, not taking into account that the Thai players only arrived today.
“They showed some good flashes and to lose 1-0 is really not too bad.”
The ASEAN All-Stars started strongly with Le Cong Vinh and also captain
Mohamad Shahril Ishak leading the frontline. But with a rather disjointed midfield where combination and understanding was still stuttering, the Indonesian team did not take too long to stamp in their dominance.
In the 25th minute, a well taken lob from Nguyen Van Quyet just narrowly missed the intended target as Indonesia continued to press from the flanks. Zulham almost doubled Indonesia’s lead just before the break but his attempt was cleared by Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak.
The change for a handful of players disrupted the flow of the game in the second half as ASEAN All-Stars pushed forward in search of the elusive equaliser.
Not even the change for Datsakon Thonglao could change the inevitable as Indonesia trooped off with the close win at home.
“I was looking forward to a technically better match but it was not to be due to the rain. The field was poor and that affected play,” added Indonesia head coach Alfred Riedl.
“We had about ten half chances but we failed to score because the technique was not good enough. But we have to admit that their goalkeeper (Hassan Sunny) played really well.”
