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The AFC.comNSW Thunder (AUS) 3-4 Wuhan Dilong (CHN)Thursday, 04 March 2010ESFAHAN – Wuhan Dilong claimed a hard-fought 4-3 win over NSW Thunder of Australia in their opening game in Group B of the AFC Futsal Club Championship on Thursday.
Goals from Li Xin, Liang Shuang, Wang Wei and Hu Jie secured the points for the Chinese side at Piouzi Stadium and moves them level with Al Sadd after the Qataris beat Pro's Cafe 8-6 earlier in the day.
The game set off at a frenetic pace but both sides were cancelling each other out defensively and it was not until the seventh minute that the first chance of note arrived as Li volleyed tamely wide.
Hu rattled the woodwork for the Chinese two minutes before the break but they finally broke the deadlock a minute later when Li's shot took a slight deflection off Adrian Vizzari on its way into the back of the net.
Wuhan continued where they had left off after the break and went further ahead in the 24th minute when skipper Liang struck a rasping drive beyond the NSW Thunder goalkeeper.
The Australians were struggling to match their opponents but were only denied reducing the deficit by the crossbar six minutes into the second half when Vizzari's free-kick hit the woodwork.
And they finally pulled a goal back two minutes later when Christoper Zeballos' shot left goalkeeper Li Kai stranded.
Wuhan lost Li Xin with two minutes left on the clock when he was shown a red card for a foul on Jack Wetney and NSW Thunder took full advantage as they levelled seconds later through Zeballos.
But with just over a minute left Wuhan restored their lead when Wang headed home Hu's cross before the latter made the win safe by driving a shot into the roof of the net with 40 seconds left.
Vizzari fired home late on for NSW Thunder but it was to prove nothing more than a consolation strike for the Australians.
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The AFC.comThunder will roar, vows AmendoliaThursday, 04 March 2010ESFAHAN – NSW (New South Wales) Thunder coach Jamie Amendolia lamented the lack of a killer touch as the Australians succumbed to a narrow 4-3 defeat to Wuhan Dilong in their AFC Futsal Club Championship opener at Piroozi Stadium on Thursday, but is confident it will come as they play more games.
Both sides had chances throughout the match but it was the Chinese that made the most of their opportunities with late strikes in quick succession from Wang Wei and Hu Jie putting the game beyond the Thunder.
“The game was a very good experience for us, it was our first in a competition like this,” said Amendolia (pictured).
“I am very happy with our overall performance, we outplayed the Chinese side but if we don't finish chances we don't win games and that was big thing for us.
“I think that comes from experience and that experience comes from playing at this level and in this competition.”
While Wuhan had the better of a first half that yielded few chances, Thunder grew in confidence and hit the woodwork on a number of occasions in the second period while they also failed finish after creating a number of decent opportunities.
"I think in the second half we played a lot better, we came for the ball more and I thought we finished the stronger team,” added Amendolia.
“We had two or three occasions when we could have scored and we hit the bar a few times late on so I don't think it is a stamina issue, it is just about experience."
Wuhan Dilong’s Li Xin was pleased with how his side performed against a physically stronger Australian side.
“I am very moved by the players,” he said. “They tried their best under difficult conditions and I cannot ask for much more.
“It was a close match and all the players for the Australian team are strong and skilful and very good, so we did well.”
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The AFC.comStroitel Zarafshan (UZB) 2-5 Nagoya Oceans (JPN)Thursday, 04 March 2010Esfahan: Nagoya Oceans served up a reminder of their credentials as one of the strongest sides in Asia as they eased to a 5-2 win over Uzbekistan's Stroitel Zarafshan in their opening game in Group A of the inaugural AFC Futsal Club Championship on Thursday.
The Japanese side have dominated their domestic league for the last three years and are now keen to prove their strength on the continental stage and their performance at Pirouzi Stadium suggests they should be there or there about come the end of the tournament.
The Oceans took the lead after four minutes when Kenchiro Kogure's shot crept over the line following a goalmouth scramble before adding a second when Bruno rifled home from Rafael Sakai's neat pass.
The Japanese side were in dominant form with Yoshifumi Maeda proving a particular thorn in Stroitel's side with his incisive passes and smart runs and he had Arsen Ismailov at full stretch with a low drive after 13 minutes.
When Stroitel did get sight of goal they found Hisamitsu Kawahara in solid form as the keeper pulled off a triple save late in the first half to deny the Uzbeks.
Nagoya added a third from a well-worked move five minutes into the second half when Teppei Maruyama rolled the ball into the path of Bruno, who smashed a shot into the back of the net and the result was put beyond a doubt when Maruyama scored two goals in less than 20 seconds midway through the second period.
Despite rarely threatening, Stroitel pulled a goal back when Oleg Khalamukhamedov's speculative effort from distance founds its way through a crowded defence and into the back of the net.
The Uzbeks then scored a second after they were awarded a penalty when skipper Wataru Kitahara brought down Anvar Mamedov inside the area and the defender stepped up to fire home at the second attempt after Kawahara denied his initial attempt.
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The AFC.comAmarante not content despite Stroitel successThursday, 04 March 2010Esfahan: Nagoya Oceans coach Adil Amarante feels his side have to iron out the mistakes they made in their 5-2 win over Stroitel Zarafshan on Thursday if they are to achieve their goal of finishing top of Group A and progressing to the semi-finals of the AFC Futsal Club Championship.
The Japanese giants produced a dominant display to see off their Uzbek opponents but Amarante admitted his side were still not at their best having had just two days to train in Esfahan following their arrival.
With no game on Friday, Nagoya has ample time to prepare for their next match against AUB Altyn Tash Bishkek from Kyrgzstan on Saturday.
And Amarante believes his side will play even better in that game than they did against Stroitel.
“We arrived two days before the tournament so we have not had much time for preparations,” said the Portuguese (
Futsalplanet note: brazilian) coach.
“The match (against Stroitel) was not so good regarding the players' condition but they still played very well.
“We were very organised throughout the game and we created many chances and scored some good goals.
“But we still made a lot of mistakes which we need to correct for the next match.”
Stroitel Zarafshan coach Anvar Mamedov admitted Nagoya proved too strong for his side but believes the experience will benefit his players in the long run.
“In my opinion the Japanese team were a little bit stronger,” he said.
“They are more experienced because they have played in many competitions and I hope in the future we can compete with this kind of team in more tournaments because at the moment we are a young team.
“I think with more games our team will get better and better everyday. Our goal is to improve the players so we can participate in other big tournaments.
"For some players it is there first journey with the side and they have not had any experience in international matches, so because of that they did well.”
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The AFC.comAFC Futsal Club Championship - MD1Thursday, 04 March 2010The opening round of the inaugural AFC Futsal Club Championship kicked off on Thursday at the Pirouzi Stadium in Esfahan, with Qatar's Al Sadd and Pro’s Café of Lebanon having the honour of playing the new tournament’s historic first match.
The Group B curtain raiser was followed by NSW (New South Wales) Thunder taking on Wuhan Dilong before Iranians Stroitel Zarafshan clashed with Japanese champions Nagoya Oceans in the opening match in Group A.
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luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com
