Kuala Lumpur: Frenz United Malaysia’s (FUM) hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the Frenz International Cup was dashed after a 4-0 defeat to Estudiantes FC at the Shah Alam Stadium tonight.
Goalkeeper Shervin Teimouri Touraj did his best for FUM by keeping the Argentines in check, but Estudiantes outplayed the hosts in a one-sided match.
FUM started on the back foot as the aggressive 4-3-3 formation by Estudiantes kept the ball in the hosts’ side of the field. However, a defensive lapse in the seventh minute saw the Malaysians conceding. Miranda Ezequiel Fernando was left unmarked outside the box and took his time to let fly a long shot into the top right corner of the net.
Losing a goal so early clearly had demoralised FUM’s morale, still struggling to make a decent attack against the visitors. Estudiantes could have doubled their lead at the 11-minute mark, but Cejas Juan Bautista was flagged offside.
But the Argentineans went 2-0 up by the 27th minute. FUM goalkeeper Shervin rushed out to stop Lazzarini Emiliano’s charge, but the ball bounced to Cascini Juan Bautista’s feet and he made no mistake from 20 yards. Rodriguez Lucas Ariel made it 3-0 in just seconds’ before half time.
Five minutes after the restart, FUM conceded again after Emiliano left his marker in the dust and put the ball past Shervin. Head coach S. Balachandran made his move soon after, substituting Aidiel Nur Iman and Habibi for Risman Tahir and Abdul Rahman Ismawi, hoping to stop the rot.
In the 77th minute, Estudiantes managed to beat Shervin again, but the linesman ruled out the goal as Bautista was found in an offside position.
With six points secured, Estudiantes will battle Tottenham for the top spot in Group D. FUM will face AIFF India, hoping to redeem its pride by claiming at least a victory.
Tottenham Hotspur also grabbed a 3-1 victory over AIFF India in a Group D tie at the UiTM Shah Alam Stadium today. It was Spurs second win in three days, having thrashed FUM 5-0 last Sunday, and joined Estudiantes in the last eight.
AIFF took advantage of Spurs slow start by playing aerial shots but had to fall back as soon as the English boys got their momentum going. It was nevertheless a tough outing for Spurs with AIFF goalkeeper Arshdeep Singh in top form.
Striker Loft Ryan George Henson had two chances to put Spurs ahead, but missed both sitters in the first 10 minutes. AIFF responded by introducing Basumatary Milan into Spurs goal area, but the Indian lad’s shot missed the left corner post by inches.
India was defending well, but it did not pay off after Nishu Kumar brought down Georgiou Anthony Michael in the box, leaving referee Tuan Mohd Yaasin to award a penalty. Harrison Shayon Adam stepped up to slot the ball into the right corner to put Spurs in the lead at the 30-minute mark.
Both AIFF and Spurs continued to squander chances, even more so for the English side which failed to truly test Indian custodian Arshdeep from open play for the remaining first half.
Spurs duo Azzaoui Ismail and Henson redeemed their poor first half performance by combining well to score the second goal just after the breather. Azzaoui relayed the ball to Henson who finished it off with a clinical touch.
AIFF breached Spurs’ net in the 60th minute after Basumatary headed in a brilliant cross from Ranawade Amey Ganesh from the right, reducing their deficit to one goal.
The Indians could have scored in the 78th minute after Basumatary weaved past goalkeeper Voss Harry William in a one-on-one situation, but his shot bounced off the far post corner. Spurs finally went 3-1 up when substitute Sterling Kazaiah Roy Barrett found a gap in AIFF’s defence to score in the 91st minute and secured Spurs another three points.
“Credit to AIFF India. I thought they got back into the game in the second half and played very strong in the late stages. All in all we were always playing confidently and the results reflect that philosophy,” said Spurs head coach McKenna Kieran Thomas.
“We made some changes in the line-up today because we are looking to use the whole squad, so there maybe changes for the next match as well,” he added.
Meanwhile, AIFF India coach Syed Sabir Pasha, said: “A very good match. Against Estudiantes FC we were missing something, and the boys made up for it today.
The result is 3-1 but I think we played equally well on the pitch. It was an outstanding performance from my boys, especially our goalkeeper.”
In Palembang, Indonesia, Brazilian outfit Internacional S.C. crumbled Chonburi FC’s hopes with a 6-0 humiliation in a Group B match while J-League side Kashima Antlers and Valencia CF played to a 0-0 draw at the Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium today, leaving the door to the quarterfinals wide open for the bottom three teams in the group.
Hat-trick from Bruno Jose de Souza (22nd, 76th, and 86th)and goals from Ronald Santanna Rodrigues (8th), Patrick de Oliveira (60th) and an own goal by Chonburi’s Jerrasak Iniam (80th) ensured Internacional lead the table standings with six points and advanced to the January 10 quarterfinals.
Kashima trail in second spot on two points while Valencia, who lost to Internacional 3-1 last Sunday, share one equal point with Chonburi FC. The Japanese play Internacional on Thursday while Valencia entertains Thailand’s Chonburi in what is seen as a tight race between the three teams for quarterfinals seats.
“It was a tightly contested match against Kashima. We had our chances and they had theirs but overall I am happy we have secured one point from here,” said Valencia head coach, Migual Grau Piles, adding that the match referee could have done a better job with the yellow cards.
“It’s not over yet and we must play much better to get the goals against Chonburi. The only consolation is that we are playing in the night. It should be little cooler than and what we experienced today,” said Piles.
Fixtures (7 Jan, 2015):
Group A: Liverpool FC v Feyenoord FC (4.0pm); Frenz United Indonesia v Guangzhou Evergrande (8.0pm). Both matches played at Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, Palembang).
Group D: PVF Vietnam v Besiktas J.K. (4.30pm, Maybank Stadium, Bangi); Gamba Osaka v Porto FC (4.30pm; UiTM Stadium, Shah Alam).
