Indonesia Loses Hope in AFF U-15 Championship After Defeat by Laos
Jakarta. Indonesia's under-15 national football team lost 2-3 to Laos in the fourth group A stage match on Saturday (15/07), preventing Fachri Husaeni's team from advancing to the knock out rounds of the 2017 Asean Football Federation U-15 Championship.
The match, which took place at the Institute of Physical Education Chonburi Campus Stadium in Chonburi, Thailand, saw Laos's Khamsavanh Louanthammakhanh's free kick skid past Indonesian goalie Pualam Bahari in the 13th minute.
The Indonesian side managed to equalize in the 29th minute however after Althaf Indie put his side on the scoreboard, but Laos reclaimed its lead in first half injury time through midfielder Soubanh Keopheth.
Indonesia's stylish striker Rendy Juliansyah contributed another equalizer in the 63rd minute.
Laos eventually won the game after striker Chony Wenpaserth netted the winning goal two minutes after Juliansyah put his in.
"In my view that was our worst performance in the tournament. The boys played as if they were not national-level footballers," head coach Fachri said after the game.
"These results [of one draw and three defeats] have reminded us that we're not that good as buzzed by everyone before."
Fachri added that after winning the Tien Phong Plastic Cup in Vietnam last month, his team was widely expected to win this tournament.
"But in reality we're not ready for it," Fachri admitted.
Indonesia has no chance to advance to semi-finals as it's now fifth in the Group A table, collecting only one point from four matches. Indonesia's youth team, dubbed the "Young Garudas," still has one remaining match to play on Monday (17/07) versus bottom-ranked Singapore.
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