Bobotoh Jakarta

The door isn’t closed yet, but Indonesia needs a huge effort to pry it open and reach the 2011 Asian Cup.

A 2-1 loss at Kuwait on Saturday left Indonesia at the foot of Group B with two points from three games, five behind leader Australia and four behind Kuwait. Australia won 2-1 in Oman to stay top of the group.

The Merah Putih must win their remaining three matches, beginning on Wednesday against Kuwait at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, to stand a chance of qualifying.

“Despite the loss, we had a great game in Kuwait, so I still have optimism for the squad to get better results in our next games,” Indonesia coach Benny Dollo said on Sunday.

“Our problem was the players’ fitness. I hope we can overcome the problem before hosting Kuwait on Wednesday,” Benny added, saying jet lag caused his team’s lackluster second half, even though Indonesia had been based in Kuwait since Nov. 7.

“Our chances are still on, but if we want to qualify for the Asian Cup, we must not drop any points in our remaining matches.”

Kuwait applied pressure from the start at Kuwait SC Stadium, forcing 11 corner kicks in the first 11 minutes of the match. Abdulla al-Bura iki nearly scored the opener when his powerful shot from inside the area beat goalkeeper Markus Harris Maulana but smashed against the woodwork.

Indonesia weathered the storm and silenced the home fans in the 33rd minute, when striker Bambang Pamunkas headed in Ismed Sofyan’s corner kick. Ismed nearly doubled his team’s lead five minutes after halftime, but Nawaf Al Khaldi managed to save his free kick.

As the match wore on, Indonesia’s fitness waned and players lost their concentration. Kuwait pulled level at the hour mark when midfielder Muhammad Ilham brought down Walied Ali Jumah inside the penalty area and Bader Al Motawaa converted the spot kick.

Kuwait stepped up the pressure, and its search for a winner was rewarded two minutes before full time. Walied Ali’s neat pass found Al Motawaa, who curled an effort into the net from just inside the area.

Kuwait coach Goran Tufegdzic called on his players to repeat the display that saw them win 1-0 in Canberra on March 5.

“I hope that we can carry on with our good performance, and I’m confident we can get a good result in Jakarta next Wednesday just like we did against Australia,” he said.

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