Laos coach heaps praise on Adi

Jason Thomas
JAKARTA

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

HANS Peter Schaller had nothing but praise for Adi Said after the striker frustrated his team by scoring both of Brunei's goals in their 2-2 draw last night.

"He's a very good player ... fantastic!," said the Laos coach yesterday after their Southeast Asian (SEA) Games Group B tie at the Lebak Bulus Stadium south of Jakarta.

"He created a lot of problems for our defenders. He's very skillful, fast and has speed. Everything is there.

"Adi is an advantage for Brunei," emphasised the Austrian.

Down to 10-men from the 15th minute after centre-back Reduan Petara was sent off for denying Laos captain Lamnao Singto a scoring opportunity on a counter-attack, not many would have fancied Brunei's chances.

But they rose to the occasion and came from 1-0 down to head into the break even.

Though Adi's brace handed the Sultanate the lead in the 56th minute, tired legs would come back to catch the Bruneians, who let in the equaliser in the 80th minute.

Nevertheless, Brunei's coach Dayem Hj Ali was happy about his 21-year-old striker's display.

"He is the one player in our team who can cause problems for opposing defenders," said Dayem.

"Watching him in training everyday, he has that striker's instinct," he added.

Though 2009 semi-finalists Laos enjoyed ample time in front of goal, Schaller said their inability to add to their tally ultimately cost them.

"I don't know how many chances we had, perhaps at least six. But that's football, if you don't score you draw or lose," he said.

The fact that Laos were odds-on favourites to win the match after playing with 11 men for 75 minutes was not lost on him. Incidentally, it was the second time in as many matches Laos failed to capitalise on a numerical advantage, falling 3-2 to 10-men Myanmar during their opener last Saturday.

Insisting over-confidence was not an issue, Schaller looked like he has a bigger problem on his hands a lack of focus.

"First of all, the match would have been better if it was 11 versus 11," he said.

"We can't be (over-confident). We don't have a team that can do that. We can't under-estimate any opponent.

"My players seemed to think that it is easier to beat 10 men (but) it was a matter of concentration.

"I don't know why, but at times, my players looked a bit confused ... That's why we let in the goals.

"We played well and had ball possession and chances, it was just the result that was disappointing," he added.

The Brunei Times