•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

The national team bowed out of the 2010 AFC Futsal Championship, losing 4-2 to Lebanon in its last group match in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Tuesday.

Coach Robby Hartono’s side was ahead at the break courtesy of goals scored by Sayan Karmadi and Ali Haidar. But the second half was a different story, as Kassem Kawsan scored a double and Khaled Takaji added one to his first-half goal to lead Lebanon to victory.

Indonesia has qualified in all but one AFC Championship since hosting the event back in 2002, but it has never advanced past the group stage. It failed to reach the tournament proper in 2006, which was also played in Uzbekistan.

Robby said his team just sputtered offensively in the second half. “Both teams played well, but Lebanon was able to convert on its scoring chances and we just kept missing,” he said. “We weren’t lucky, but we’ll look forward to the next competitions.

“Our goal was to make it to the quarterfinals,” Robby added. “We did everything we could, but we fell short. Our effort was clearly not enough.”

Sayan put Indonesia ahead in the 14th minute at IT University Sports Complex, before Khaled Takaji equalized four minutes later. Indonesia was able to regain the upper hand with a 20th-minute strike from Ali.

Lebanon opened the second half with back-to-back goals from Kawsan, before Takaji found the net again in the 30th. The victory propelled the Lebanese to the quarterfinals, joining Group A leader Uzbekistan, which won 4-1 over Taiwan, also on Tuesday.

Indonesia finished third in Group A, with one victory and two losses. It defeated Taiwan 6-1 in its opening match, then lost 4-2 to Uzbekistan.