Courtesy: The Jakarta Globe


Indonesia Moves a Step Closer to Futsal Finals

February 21, 2010

Indonesia boosted its chance of securing a spot at the 2010 AFC Futsal Championship following a 7-1 win over Burma at Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Indoor Stadium in Jakarta on Sunday.

Indonesia qualified for the semifinals with the victory, and will play Australia today to determine who takes the top spot in Group A.

Australia defeated Burma 6-1 on Saturday.

Indonesia coach Robby Hartono said Sunday’s result gave the team a shot of confidence as it set its sights on becoming champion.

“I’m very pleased that we were able to take the first match. I hope we can maintain our performance, win this qualifying round and move into the final,” Robby said on Sunday. “As it was our first match, the boys were still nervous. That’s why we missed a lot of chances. ”

“We have set ourselves a high target in this event, and we’ll take it one step at a time,” Robby added. “We’ll play Australia first, and after that we’ll think about the semifinals.”

Indonesia overpowered Burma, with Denny Handoyo giving the host an early 2-0 lead with goals in the fifth and sixth minutes.

Socrates Matulessy hit his first goal of the day in the 19th minute to give Indonesia a 3-0 edge at halftime.

Robby made numerous substitutions at the half in order to maintain the pressure on Burma, and Socrates scored his second in the 23rd minute to make it 4-0.

Five minutes later, Jefri Purba hit the back of the net to get the crowd on their feet. Sayan Karmadi made it six in the 33rd minute, before Hairul Ohorella added the seventh a minute later.

Leading by seven goals, Indonesia eased off. Burma took advantage, with Han Naing Soe scoring a consolation goal two minutes from full time.

Burma’s coach, Htay Myint, said Indonesia deserved the win.

“It’s a much better team than the team we played before,” he said. “Originally, I expected at least to score three goals, but Indonesia was much better than us. If they keep playing quickly, Indonesia has a chance to beat Australia.”

In Group B, Vietnam beat the Philippines 4-1 on Sunday to take top spot. It was Vietnam’s second victory, after its 12-2 thumping of Cambodia on Saturday, and it leads Group B with six points from two games.

Malaysia, which beat the Philippines 4-1 on Saturday, is second in the group.

The top two teams from each group advance to the crossover semifinals, with the top three from the crossover advancing to the tournament proper, which will be played in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from May 23 to 30.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com