Big Loss for ‘Garuda’ Team

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Indonesian national team player, Egy Maulana Vikri (right) tries to control the ball from a Thai player, Channarong Promsrikaew, in the Group A match of the 2022 AFF Cup at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta, Thursday (29/12/2022). The match ended in a draw, 1-1.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Indonesian national team failed to take advantage of its early lead and to win its first victory over Thailand since 2016. The “Garuda” team lost focus after scoring a goal and was forced to end the match in a 1-1 draw, on Thursday (29/12/2022). Even though it failed to secure an early spot in the semifinals, Indonesia's chance of qualifying from the group is still wide open.

Playing in front of tens of thousands of supporters at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, in Jakarta, Indonesia had a greater chance of winning because it played with more players from the 62nd minute. The Thai substitute, Sanrawat Dechmitr, fouled Saddil Ramdani so badly that he was immediately given a red card by the referee.

However, the superior number of players coupled with the extraordinary support of the supporters were not enough to help Indonesia win. Taking the lead through Marc Klok's penalty in the 50th minute, Indonesia failed to maintain its lead. Losing focus on defense was fatal as Sarach Yooyen brought Thailand level, 10 minutes before the end of normal time.

“As you can see, we almost won. I really wanted to play myself. The players have maximized, but luck has not been on our side," said Indonesian coach Shin Tae-yong.

Also read: Illusion of Indonesia's Big Win

Conceding a goal before the match ended with the opponent playing with only 10 men was very painful. Indonesia's back line mistakes in anticipating Thailand's attacks need to be Shin's focus in the last game against the Philippines. The equalizer showed that Indonesia's defense coordination and organization still have problems.

Shin regretted that his team failed to take advantage of the chances and the number of advantages they had. Before the match, Shin was very confident that he could beat Thailand. So far, at the senior national team level, Shin has met Thailand four times and all of them have been without a win.

The support from fans is believed to have motivated the “Garuda” team’s performance. Moreover, Thailand was not strengthened by three main players, namely Chanatip Songkrasin, Supachok Sarachat and Kawin Thamsatchanan.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Indonesian national team player, Wikan Sulaeman, expressed his disappointment after the ball he kicked narrowly deviated from the Thai goal in the Group A match of the 2022 AFF Cup at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta, Thursday (29/12/2022). The match ended in a draw, 1-1.

Likewise, Klok expressed a similar sentiment, saying that his team performed better than the first two matches. However, he was surprised that Indonesia's performance actually declined when Thailand was down to 10 men.

"I don't know the exact reason why we immediately played badly after having the advantage with more players. Indeed, the players are physically tired so they can't focus," said Klok.

He felt that Indonesia missed a great opportunity because it should have won, but wasted many chances. Shin's final settlement problem has not been resolved and it has repeated itself since the first match of Group A.

The best opportunity was when Witan Sulaeman only needed to kick the ball into an open net. However, Witan's shot failed to hit the target.

Also read:A Test of ‘Garuda’ Squad’s Sharpness

Regarding that opportunity, Shin said Witan was one of the best finishing strikers in the team. He was thus unable to explain Witan's failure to benefit from this golden opportunity. “Witan pressing up front can win the ball well. This is often done in training but it's a shame not to score goals," he said.

Thailand coach Alexandre Polking said the match against Indonesia was very tough because there was great pressure and intimidation from the fans in the stadium. In addition, the red card made several plans in the second half go awry.

Polking praised the energy and fighting spirit of his players who were able to ignore the pressure of the home crowd. They remained calm even though they lost a player to a red card.

“Indonesia's goal surprised us. Moreover, we got a red card. That shouldn't happen in football. The performance of this team was extraordinary given such pressure,“ he said.

Witan pressing up front can win the ball well. This is often done in training but it's a shame not to score goals.

The intimidation that Thailand faced began before the match, when a group of fans attacked the team bus, breaking a window. This hooliganism indicated that fan misbehavior has not changed despite the Kanjuruhan Tragedy of three months ago that left 135 people dead.

The incident was shared by Thai Assistant Coach Luis Viegas through his Twitter account, @luisviegasfoot. In the 40-second video, the Thai team bus can be seen being intercepted by dozens of Indonesian fans wearing black shirts. They beat the sides of the bus with their bare hands and swear while singing "Indonesia Pusaka".

There was no close escort of the bus by security at the time of the incident. The bus had to move slowly toward the stadium because it was impeded by the fans.

This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.