Indonesia has planned to rain goals against Laos, to have a favorable secondary index, in case of competition with Vietnam and Malaysia. To serve that, coach Shin Tae-yong has made some adjustments to the starting lineup, but still has all the brightest stars such as captain Evan Dimas, player Asnawi or striker Hari Yudo.
The Laos team played defensively, but they were "not too weak" as Mr. Shin Tae-yong commented. The statements of the Korean strategist touched the confidence of the Laos team. They play proactive defense, are confident and patiently wait for counter-attacks.
The difficulty in sticking to and playing defensively with the majority of Billy Ketkeophomphone and his teammates prevented the Indonesian team from creating clear opportunities. The team from the archipelago controlled the ball a lot, but lacked the options to approach goalkeeper Keo Oudone's goal.
The Indonesian team only broke the deadlock from Asnawi's penalty spot, after a mistake by the Lao defender. Before the end of the first half, the team from the archipelago scored another goal thanks to Irfan Jaya. However, the Indonesian team received a big "shock" when they let the Lao team score 1 goal in the 40th minute. Bounkong took advantage of the Indonesian defense's high defense to punish the opponent, with a sharp shot. This was the first goal of the Laos team at this year's AFF Cup.
Not wanting to put himself in a difficult position, coach Shin Tae-yong focused all his efforts on attacking in the second half. He made a series of substitutions to increase pressure on the opponent. In particular, midfielder Witan Sulaeman played very well after entering the field when he scored 1 goal and made 1 assist for Ezra Walian to score to increase the score to 4-1.
The closer to the end of the match, the more Indonesia dominated the game as the Laos team was clearly exhausted. However, Mr. Shin Tae-yong's team only scored 1 more goal thanks to Evan Dimas. In the end, the Indonesian team beat Laos 5-1.
With this result, the Indonesian team has 6 points and temporarily took the lead in Group B. They have the same score as Malaysia but have a better advantage in the secondary index. This is a good preparation for Shin Tae-yong and his team before the match against Vietnam on December 15.
