Monday, March 16, 2009
A look at Sriwijaya
This most emphatically was not the start Sriwijaya coach Rahmad Darmawan wanted to his side’s AFC Champions League campaign. Before the game he would have been stressing the importance of home form and while his side traded punches with FC Seoul in the first half hour there was only going to be one winner.
Replacing Ferry Rotinsulu in goal again, Dede Sulaiman had as abject a first half as you are ever going to see and it was from his poor throw on the half hour that the Koreans took the lead. His handling and distribution all through the first half had the fans and his defence on edge and it was telling as the half wore on that Charis Yulianto and company avoided playing the ball back to their under pressure keeper.
But to blame a 4-2 home defeat on the transgressions on one individual is not only unfair. It is lazy. It also overlooks his contribution second half when a string of important saves kept the visitors at bay for long periods.
Darmawan sprang a surprise when he relegated the influential new signing Budi Sudarsono to the bench. Indonesia’s top scorer during the recent AFF Cup, Budi is the one player who could perhaps uinlock the Korean’s defence with his pace and drive. Yet he was sat on the bench for the whole game despite the chanting round the stadium for the former Persik striker to be introduced.
Three nil down during the second half and with fans heading for the exit, Cameroonian striker Claude Parfait Ngon A Djam took hold of the game and for a few minutes home fans believed. First a superb first touch brought the ball down which he drove home. Minutes later a towering header made it 3-2 and now, surely, was the time to introduce Budi when Seoul were rattled and the fans roaring their idols on.
But the moment was lost. Instead of pushing forward for an unlikely equalizer Sriwijaya were hemmed back and it was 4-2.
In a group where the top two qualify the knock out stage Sriwijaya are dead and buried. They needed results from their home games and, despite those few moments inspired by Ngon A Djam, they never really looked like getting anything from this game. All we have left is the post match analysis and one over riding question.
Why wasn’t Budi used? He was signed very much with the ACL in mind. He’s one of their best players. Why not use him? Darmawan has a small squad. He doesn’t have the luxury of rotation available to him.
There are also bigger questions to be addressed. About the game in Indonesia. We now have a time when Asian clubs can pick three foreign players plus one Asian for these competitions. Japan has a similar ruling. Given a shop window to parade their talents the only players to impress were Ngon A Djam and Zah Rahan. One is Cameroonian, the other Liberian.
Replacing Ferry Rotinsulu in goal again, Dede Sulaiman had as abject a first half as you are ever going to see and it was from his poor throw on the half hour that the Koreans took the lead. His handling and distribution all through the first half had the fans and his defence on edge and it was telling as the half wore on that Charis Yulianto and company avoided playing the ball back to their under pressure keeper.
But to blame a 4-2 home defeat on the transgressions on one individual is not only unfair. It is lazy. It also overlooks his contribution second half when a string of important saves kept the visitors at bay for long periods.
Darmawan sprang a surprise when he relegated the influential new signing Budi Sudarsono to the bench. Indonesia’s top scorer during the recent AFF Cup, Budi is the one player who could perhaps uinlock the Korean’s defence with his pace and drive. Yet he was sat on the bench for the whole game despite the chanting round the stadium for the former Persik striker to be introduced.
Three nil down during the second half and with fans heading for the exit, Cameroonian striker Claude Parfait Ngon A Djam took hold of the game and for a few minutes home fans believed. First a superb first touch brought the ball down which he drove home. Minutes later a towering header made it 3-2 and now, surely, was the time to introduce Budi when Seoul were rattled and the fans roaring their idols on.
But the moment was lost. Instead of pushing forward for an unlikely equalizer Sriwijaya were hemmed back and it was 4-2.
In a group where the top two qualify the knock out stage Sriwijaya are dead and buried. They needed results from their home games and, despite those few moments inspired by Ngon A Djam, they never really looked like getting anything from this game. All we have left is the post match analysis and one over riding question.
Why wasn’t Budi used? He was signed very much with the ACL in mind. He’s one of their best players. Why not use him? Darmawan has a small squad. He doesn’t have the luxury of rotation available to him.
There are also bigger questions to be addressed. About the game in Indonesia. We now have a time when Asian clubs can pick three foreign players plus one Asian for these competitions. Japan has a similar ruling. Given a shop window to parade their talents the only players to impress were Ngon A Djam and Zah Rahan. One is Cameroonian, the other Liberian.
# posted by Me @ 6:50 PM 
Comments:
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I've been watching the first half of this match and Sriwijaya just looked terrible - is this really the Indonesian champions? It's not just the goalkeeper but the entire backline and midfield is just crap. Many times the ball is given away cheaply. Very disappointing.
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