Bangkok BTS FC from Thailand won their first ever international silverware this year when they beat Australia’s East Coast Heat FC 7-1 in the final of the AFF Futsal Club Championship here at the GOR UNY.
A new champion might have been crowned this time round – following IPC FC (Indonesia) in 2015 and Thaiport (Thailand) hat-trick in 2015, 2016 and 2017 – but BTS made sure that the coveted club Futsal Cup returned to Bangkok nonetheless.
“It is our first ever title outside of Thailand and naturally, we are very proud of this achievement,” said Bangko BTS head coach Suchin Eamchalad.
“We came here with a mission and that was to win this championship. The win today was the culmination of the hardwork which the team has put in.”
East Coast Heat FC did not lose the final for the lack of trying but it was obvious that Bangkok BTS had just too much quality on their side.
And while Daniel John Fornito slammed in his tenth goal of the match in the third minute to confirm his win of the Golden Boot as the tournament top scorer this year, there was no real chance of them win the cup.
Captain Punyapon Pumwiset was again the central figure of strength as his equalising goal two minutes later gave BTS all the confidence they needed to win the tie.
Peerapol Satsue gave BTS the lead for the first time in the match in the 16th minute as the wiles of Muhammad Osamanmusa then closed the first half with the third goal.
Two goals behind, East Coast started to feel the heat and they gambled with power play after the restart. It was a gamble that was too much to take against an experienced side like BTS.
Goalkeeper Hadsadee Makchaew gave BTS their fourth goal of the game in the 31st minute as East Coast continued to be punished with further goals from Sarawut Phalaphruek (33rd minute), Peerapol (34th) and Panya Buakham (37th).
“We tried to match BTS in the first half but it was obvious that the Thais were at a different level,” added East Coast Heat head coach Miles Downie.
In the meantime, MIC FC came in third in the tournament this year after beating home team SKN FC 11-10 in the penalty shootouts after the score ended 3-3 at the end of regulation.
“This is the third time that we have finished on third and we really can’t complain,” said MIC head coach Than Wunna Aung.
“Back home our infrastructure and given the limited amount of time, I think that we did well this year. We have to aim higher for the next edition in 2019.”
It was a pulsating encounter with SKN pushing hard for the lead in front of their few hundreds screaming fans. But it was MIC who went ahead in fifth minute when Hlaing Min Tun blasted in from the right.
But SKN were unhampered.
SKN replied with perhaps the best goal of the tournament in the 12th minute when Said Bouzambou ran the ball from his byline, all the way past the four MIC outfield players before rounding off keeper Yan Paing Hein to score.
With the score tied at the half and SKN under pressure to deliver in front of their home fans, it was MIC who went ahead twice with two quick goals from Aung Thu (22nd) and then Min Tun (25th).
The score was 3-1 in favour of MIC.
With SKN struggling to play with continued absence of the injured Khalid El Hattach, head coach Deny Handoyo had little choice but to opt for the power play.
And that gamble paid off handsomely.
Zaakariya smashed in SKN’s second goal in the 35th minute as Fahrudin Haryono, then grabbed the all-important equaliser with just 20seconds left on the clock to force the game into the penalty shootouts.
In the shootout, the battle was no less keen as both teams converted all ten attempts before Johanis Mustamu missed for SKN to give the advantage to MIC.
And MIC’s Pyae Phyo Maung did not miss to give the side from Myanmar the hard fought win.
“We have to change the way we play. It is obvious that we need to move from individual game to more team effort,” said Deny.
“We missed Hattach today and also for the semi-finals. And we struggled. We do not have another player to fill that position.”
RESULTS
Final: East Coast Heat FC (AUSTRALIA) 1 Bangkok BTS (THAILAND) 7
Third and Fourth Placing: MIC FC (MYANMAR) 3 (11) SKN FC (INDONESIA) 3 (10)
