Courtesy: The AFC.com


AUB Altyn Tash (KGZ) 5-4 Stroitel Zarafshan (UZB)

Tuesday, 09 March 2010

Esfahan: AUB Altyn Tash Bishkek avoided finishing bottom of Group A at the AFC Futsal Club Championship after Erkin Tabaldiev's late strike secured a 5-4 win for the Kyrgyzstan side over Uzbeks Stroitel Zarafshan at Pirouzi Stadium on Tuesday.

With tournament hosts Foolad Mahan Sepahan and Japanese giants Nagoya Oceans having already claimed the top two spots there was nothing but pride to play for between the two Central Asia rivals.

And in an unsurprisingly close encounter it took Tabaldiev's last-minute strike to settle matters.

Both sides cancelled each other out during the opening exchanges and it seemed as though the first half would end goalless but a quick-fire double from Farruh Zakirov put Stroitel ahead.

AUB responded with Geraldo smashing a shot into the top left corner of the goal a minute before the break but Stroitel restored their two-goal advantage seconds later when keeper Nikolay Shamonin dropped the ball at the feet of Vitaliy Shapovalov and the midfielder lashed home.

AUB again battled back three minutes into the second half when skipper Etienne squared a free-kick to the unmarked Dilshat Kadyrov, who swept a shot through the defence and into the net.

Etienne then got on the score sheet himself when he combined with Tabaldiev to finish from close range and level the scores.

Stroitel regained their lead with five minutes remaining when Zakirov danced through the defence before stroking a low shot beyond keeper Jenish Kojonaliev but again AUB responded with Geraldo scoring from distance.

The Kyrgyzstan side then snatched their first and only three points at the tournament when Etienne fed a pass into the area and Tabaldiev stretched out a foot to stab home.






Courtesy: The AFC.com


Mamedov: Fatigue from Foolad our undoing

Tuesday, 09 March 2010

Esfahan: Stroitel Zarafshan coach Anvar Mamedov felt his players struggled to recover from their hefty defeat to Foolad Mahan Sepahan on Monday as they were edged 5-4 by AUB Altyn Tash Bishkek in their third and final game at the AFC Futsal Club Championship.

Iranians Foolad dominated their Uzbek opponents from start to finish as they ran out comfortable 12-1 winners and though Stroitel battled hard against AUB in an attempt to restore pride, a last-minute strike from Erkin Tabaldiev settled the match.

“After the game against Foolad it was very difficult for us to recover psychologically,” said Mamedov (pictured).

“I wanted us to defend more rather than attack but in the second half maybe the physical condition of our players went down.

“I am very disappointed we tried to win but we failed.”

Stroitel twice held a two-goal advantage over AUB but their Kyrgyzstan opponents battled back on each occasion with Brazilian duo Etienne and Geraldo providing the inspiration.

“The two teams played very well," added Mamedov. "The Kyrgyzstan team had two Brazilian players who helped them get the win.

“Unfortunately we lost but we will analyse the performance and see our mistakes and fix things for the future.”

AUB captain Etienne, meanwhile, was pleased with the performance of his side throughout the tournament though refused to predict who could go on to lift the trophy.

“Our clubs are not professional clubs and we just have amateur leagues so it has been hard for us," he said.

“The Iranian team is one of the strongest as they have eight international players in their squad but we cannot judge who will make it to the final just yet.”




Courtesy: The AFC.com


Foolad Mahan Sepahan (IRN) 6-2 Nagoya Oceans (JPN)

Tuesday, 09 March 2010

Esfahan: Foolad Mahan Sepahan secured first place in Group A of the AFC Futsal Club Championship with a battling 6-2 win over Nagoya Oceans at a packed Pirouzi Stadium on Tuesday.

With the two sides having already booked their place in the last four this match was simply to decide who would finish first.

Foolad had little trouble claiming victories in their previous two matches but were made to work hard by a determined Nagoya side.

The victory means the Iranians will play Port Authority of Thailand in the semi-finals on Thursday with Nagoya taking on Al Sadd of Qatar.

From the outset Nagoya pressured Foolad but it was the hosts who took the lead in the sixth minute with a well-worked free-kick as Vahid Shamsaee shaped to shoot only to instead pass to Mohammad Taheri, who drove an unstoppable effort from a tight angle into the back of the net.

Nagoya showed they were going to give Foolad a fight and they levelled less than a minute later through Kiyohiro Hirabayashi.

The Japanese side then stunned their opponents when skipper Wataru Kitahara broke down the right before firing a shot that keeper Mostafa Nazari could only help into the net.

Shamsaee levelled with a well-placed strike with four minutes of the half remaining before Nagoya had Hisao Sadanaga sent off early in the second half after he picked up two yellow cards in quick succession.

Despite having competed well with Foolad, Nagoya fell behind when Javad Asghari glanced a header into the back of the net in the 28th minute.

Asghari turned provider soon after when his pass was turned home by Mohammad Ghasemi before late strikes from Majid Raeisi and Shamsaee completed the victory.




Courtesy: The AFC.com


Afzali: ‘a game of two halves’ for Foolad

Tuesday, 09 March 2010

Esfahan: Foolad Mahan Sepahan coach Hossein Afzali was delighted with the way his side learned the lessons from a poor first-half display as the Iranians defeated Nagoya Oceans 6-2 on Tuesday to secure first place in Group A of the AFC Futsal Club Championship.

The hosts claimed comfortable victories over AUB Altyn Tash Bishkek of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbeks Stroitel Zarafshan to book their place in the last four but encountered their most difficult opponent yet in the Japanese champions.

A tense match finished honours even at the break with both sides having scored two goals each but Foolad took control in the second half to secure the win and set-up a semi-final clash with Port Authority of Thailand on Thursday.

“We had two different halves in this game,” said Afzali. “The first half was very tough. We were not good and the score was 2-2 at half time.

“But the good thing was we could use the first half to understand our opponents and then we took that knowledge into the second half to be able to beat them.”

Nagoya Oceans coach Adil Amarante pointed out lapses in concentration as the main reason why his side were not able to come away with three points.

The defeat means they have to settle for second place in the group and will play Qataris Al Sadd in the last four.

“In futsal the important things are in the small details,” said Amarante. “We needed to concentrate and then we would have a good game but in this match we lost concentration and in futsal a simple miss can prove costly.

“We missed many small chances during the match, we lost concentration and Foolad are a great team and small misses are costly against them.


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