Jakarta: Three goals in the final 30 minutes saw Indonesia come from behind to score a 3-1 win over a resolute Timor-Leste.

After they were unceremoniously hammered 7-0 by Thailand on Matchday One, Timor-Leste were expected to offer little resistance as Indonesia chased their first win of this campaign after their loss to Singapore in their opening encounter.

But someone forgot to tell the Timorese players, and it was they who created the first chance of the game when Rufino Walter Gama found space down the right hand side and whipped a dangerous cross into the box that was put out for a corner by the Indonesian defence.

After that loss to Singapore last week, the home side were keen to turn things around in front of their own fans, but they played like a team under pressure, struggling to find any cohesion in a disjointed first half display.

Despite their struggles to break down the Timor-Leste defence, they still came closest to opening the scoring on the stroke of half time when defender Hansamu Yama Pranata saw his shot cannot back off the post after a scramble in the area.

The game was turned on its head just three minutes into the second half when a long ball was played into Rufino, who controlled it with his first touch before unleashing a sensational volley that sailed into the back of the net over a helpless Andritany Ardhiyasa. 

That goal, coupled with the introduction of Riko Simanjuntak, provided the spark that Indonesia needed and they drew level on the hour mark when the ball was played to an overlapping Alfath Fathier, who cut inside onto his right boot and fired a shot that Fagio Pereira could only parry into his own net.

Less than ten minutes later and Bima Satki’s team were ahead after Andik Vermansah was brought down in the area by Gumario Augusto. The responsibility for the resulting spot kick fell to substitute Stefano Lilipaly, who made no mistake in slotting the ball past Fagio.

The home side sealed the win and all three points in the 82nd minute when Simanjuntak again found space on the right, clipping in a perfectly weighted cross for Beto who made no mistake with his header.

Indonesia next travel to Bangkok to face Thailand on Friday, while Timor-Leste will face Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.