Bagus or Amiruddin Bagus Kahfi Alfikri struck again for Indonesia as his two goals and an assist gave the homesters a comprehensive 3-0 beating of Timor Leste on the fourth match day of Group A of the AFF Under-16 Championship here in Surabaya.
Playing without his twin brother Amiruddin Bagas Kaffa Arrizqi did not affect one bit as although they struggled somewhat in the first half, the second was all Indonesia as they book their place in the semi-finals of the championship in commanding fashion.
“It was a very hard and tight game. In the first half, we could not get the goals that we wanted as Timor Leste were very disciplined,” said Indonesian head coach Fakhri Hussaini.
“A change in tactics in the second half produced the right results and we are appreciative of the work put in by the players.”
In front of well over 25,000 fans and also with former Timor Leste President Xanana Gusmao at the stand, the match took off on an explosive note with the homesters taking the early possession and pace of the match.
An early mad scramble in front of the Timor goal did not produced the lead while Bagus failed with a header and then a one-on-one attempt.
Timor were playing it defensive against the odds as they look for the rare chance to counter with little effect as Indonesia continued to press forward with a freekick from Muhammad Salman Alfarid coming off the crossbar.
The change for speedy winger Mochammad Supriadi gave more pace but still no goal as Indonesia rued their chances while Timor rode their luck all square into the second half.
But just nine minutes after the restart, Bagus struck his and Indonesia’s first goal of the game, tapping in the cross from Andre Oktaviansyah as the Timor defence fell napping.
With Timor’s reply off a one timer from Ejivanio Da Costa failing to beat Ernando Sutaryadi between the posts, Indonesia then nailed their second goal of the evening with Bagus running down the right for Sutan Diego Zico to finish.
Bagus then rounded off a fine evening for Indonesia with his second deep in injury time.
With the win, Indonesia have amassed a perfect 12 points from four matches played and where a win in their last game in the group against Cambodia would see them win Group A.
In the meantime, Vietnam and Myanmar have set up a decisive clash in two days with a place in the semi-finals at stake from Group A.
Today, Vietnam made short work of the Philippines with a 6-1 beating at the Joko Samudro Stadium while Myanmar came back to blast Cambodia 4-1 at the Gelora Sidoarjo.
“We needed to win this match for the decisive tie (against Myanmar) but the players should have done more with the chances were presented. Six goals were not good enough,” said Vietnam head coach Vu Hong Viet.
It took a while but Vietnam finally cracked open the Philippines defence through Hoang Van Thong in the 19th minute as Nguyen Quoc Hoang then doubled the advantage eight minutes later.
Vietnam finished the first half on top with a 3-0 lead following the third strike from Dinh Thanh Trung.
The Philippines came in stronger into the second half as they maintained defensive discipline before pulling a goal back in the 50th minute through Sandro Sison Reyes.
It was left to Quoc Hoang to make good on the chances Vietnam had and where he managed to complete his hat trick with goals in the 58th and 80th minute in between a goal from Ngoc Thanh (79th).
On the other hand, there was drama at the Delta Sidoarjo Stadium as Myanmar had to fight from a goal down before they were able to beat Cambodia 4-1.
The score at the end of a drab first half was 0-0 as Myanmar were a shade off colour with the chances for La Min Htwe and Naung Naung Soe and Aung Ko Oo deserving better .
For Cambodia, they were counting on the break to make their runs but even then, they seem to struggle to get inside the Myanmar box as the score remain unchanged.
But just three minutes after the restart, Cambodia punished the poor effort from Ko Oo when they grabbed the lead off a quick counter that was finely finished by Met Samel.
That goal prodded Myanmar into action and sustained pressure saw Cambodian defender Ry Leap Pheng conceding an own goal in the 56th minute as Naing Htwe then had an easy header just three minutes later.
With Cambodia back pedalling, Myanmar went on to complete the rout with Naung Soe finally making good on the cross from Khun Kyaw Zin Hein in the 65th minute and Min Htwe fabulous incisive shot right at the end.
“The players under-estimated Cambodia in the first half and that was why they took it easy,” said Myanmar head coach Nyi Nyi Latt.
“We only won this match after some changes in players and also a change in tactics. This is an important win as it sets the stage for the decisive game against Vietnam.”
RESULTS
4 Aug 2018 – Group A
Philippines 1 Vietnam 6
Myanmar 4 Cambodia 1
Indonesia 3 Timor Leste 0
FIXTURES
5 Aug 2018 – Group B
All matches at the Joko Samudro Stadium
1500: Malaysia vs Singapore
1830: Laos vs Thailand
