Indonesia were stretched to the limit against Myanmar in the first semifinal of the men’s football event at the SEA Games 2019 but in the end, had the staying power to win 4-2 in the afternoon tie at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
“Yes we should have wrapped up the game when we were leading, but there were some lack of concentration and that allowed Myanmar to draw level,” said Indonesia head coach Indra Sjafri after the match.
“However, the players responded well in extra time and now we are in the final. Whoever we meet in the final, the target is still the gold medal.”
With the score at a deadlock at the end of an exhilarating first half, the match finally moved up a gear in the 58th minute when Egy Maulana Vikri’s persistence paid off when his cross saw the waiting Evan Dimas to slam the ball home.
And while Myanmar were pushing hard in search of the squaliser, they fell further behind in the 72nd saw Adi Bagas’s freekick on the right allowed Egy to head the ball home.
However Myanmar refused to give up and in a two-minute blitz, they clawed their way back to force the game into extra time.
The first Myanmar goal came in the 79th minute where after winning the ball at the centre of the park Lwin Moe Aung played it short for Aung Kaung Mann to blast the ball in.
Less than a minute later, another loss possession at the centre of the park, allowed Mao Aung to slip in through two defenders but while goalkeeper Arga Nadeo Winata got a hand to it, he failed to make a clean save which allowed Win Naing Tun to score.
The extra time did not push Indonesia into cautious mode and against their fast-tiring opponents, they were quick to score twice for the win.
In the 102nd minute of play, a low cross from Asnawi Bahar saw Osvaldo Haay with a fine finish at the far post while in the 114th minute, Saddil Ramdani’s hardwork down the left allowed Evan to pounce.
