Indonesia edged closer to securing a spot in the last four as hosts Vietnam celebrated their first opening victory of the AFF HDBank Futsal Championship at the Phu Tho Indoor Stadium this evening.
The Indonesians turned in a solid performance to defeat Brunei 9-0 today for their second victory of the tournament which places them on the verge of qualifying for the semi-finals and more importantly, to book a spot in the Asian Futsal Championships next year.
“The result was good but I thought that we could have put in a better performance,” said Indonesian head coach Vic Hermans afterwards. “We need to show more commitment as the next game is very important which is against the hosts.”
Indonesia has proven to have a fiery frontline, scoring 30 goals in two matches. Yesterday, they whitewashed the Philippines 21-0. Ardiansyah got the action going in the third minute Guntur Sulisto Ariwibowo adding another in the ninth minute. Syauqi Saud, Johanis Dominggus Mustamu and Bambang Bayu Saptaji rounded up the first half.
Brunei launched intermittent attacks and were unfortunate not to score. The Indonesians were sharper and made the best of their chances with four strikes from Bambang (27th), Syauqi (30th), Mochammad Iqbal Rahmattulah (36th) and Alexander Benhard Larawo (40th).
Indonesia now tops the group with six points while Myanmar, who won yesterday but had a rest day today, slipped to third as Vietnam moved into second position thanks to their enormous 24-0 win over the Philippines tonight.
Vietnam were clearly fired up to play after not being involved on the opening day’s proceedings. The hosts had an explosive start, hammering four goals within the first few minutes, to the delight of the home fans.
As the game progressed, the Vietnamese players also began to improve and this led to a flurry of goals. By the end of the first half, the local boys had reeled in another six goals to give them a smashing 10-0 lead at the break.
The floodgates remained open when the game resumed. The Vietnam players picked up from where they left off and fired with all guns blazing. Some 15 minutes into the second half, Vietnam had doubled the score and by the end of the match walked away with a massive margin.
Vietnam will face a tough opponent in Indonesia tomorrow in a tie that could likely decide which team tops the group. Indonesia have been impressive, scoring 30 goals in two matches thus far.
“We needed the goals and I am really sorry to the Philippines but we played with a lot of respect and that is why the players played with high intensity,” said Vietnam head coach Miguel Rodrigo. “The next match will be very important, so the players have to recover well from this game.”
Earlier in the afternoon, defending champs Thailand and Malaysia advanced to the semi-finals and in the process secured their places in the Asian Futsal Championships next year. Thailand, the 12-time winners of this tournament, whipped Timor Leste 17-2 while Malaysia out-played Laos 6-3.
For Thailand and Malaysia, today’s victories were their second, and enough to assure them spots in the last four. The two teams will battletomorrow at noon to decide who tops Group B. For Laos and Timor Leste, today’s results were their second successive defeats.
RESULTS
Today
Group B: Malaysia bt Laos 6-3, Thailand bt Timor Leste 17-2
Group A: Indonesia bt Brunei 9-0, Vietnam bt Philippines 24-0
Oct 26
Group A: Myanmar bt Brunei 13-0, Indonesia bt Philippines 21-0
Group B: Thailand bt Laos 14-0, Malaysia bt Timor Leste 7-2
TOMORROW’S FIXTURES
Group A: Vietnam vs Indonesia, Myanmar vs Philippines
Group B: Thailand vs Malaysia, Timor Leste vs Laos
