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The AFC.comGp A: Uzbeks, Indonesia taste victoriesSunday, 23 May 2010Tashkent: Hosts Uzbekistan opened their AFC Futsal Championship campaign with a 3-1 Group A victory over Lebanon at the Uzbekistan Sports Complex on Sunday.
In the other match, Indonesia thrashed Chinese Taipei 6-1 to put themselves in a good position to claim one of the top two positions in the group.
Nodir Elibaev gave the Uzbeks a seventh-minute lead and Hurshid Tajibaev added a second three minutes later.
Khaled Takaji, who was sent off just before the end, reduced the deficit for Lebanon on 34 minutes but the Uzbeks had the last say with Dilshod Irsaliev scoring their third in the 40th minute.
Uzbekistan were favoured to win the game and enjoyed most of the possession in the early exchanges.
The Lebanese, facing a 2-0 half-time deficit, can out stronger after the interval and gave themselves hope with Takaji’s strike. But the home side recovered to put distance between themselves and their opponents with Irsaliev’s late goal.
In the other group game, Chinese Taipei scored after just one minute through Fang Ching-jen but after that it was all Indonesia, who had goals from Ali Haidar, Victor Hutabarat, Socrates Matulessy, Jaelani Ladjanibi, Deny Handoyo and Benny Hera.
On Monday, Uzbekistan face Indonesia in what could prove to be the table-topping decider for Group A.
Lebanon, meanwhile, are hoping to bounce back against Chinese Taipei.
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The AFC.comGp C: Asean triumphs for Thais, VietnamSunday, 23 May 2010Tashkent: Thailand fought back from 2-0 down to beat Kyrgyzstan 4-2 in their opening Group C match of the AFC Futsal Championship on Sunday.
Fellow Asean side Vietnam also got off to a winning start after they beat Korea Republic 7-3 in the other group match.
Kyrgyzstan had swept to a two-goal lead in 14 minutes through Azamat Mendibaev and Vadim Kondratkov and looked to be in the driving seat at the IT University Complex.
But the Thais fought back aggressively and totally stunned the Central Asians with four goals without reply.
Keattiyot Chalaemkhet and Ekapong Suratsawang brought the Thais level by the 21st minute and Suphawut Thueanklang gave them the lead on 32 minutes.
Kyrgyzstan’s Erkin Tabaldiev suffered an own goal in the 38th minute to complete help the Thais seal the win.
The victory for Thailand, one of the rising nations in Asian futsal, will give them a major boost ahead of their next match against Korea Republic on Monday.
Kyrgyzstan, meanwhile, will try to recover against Vietnam, who can take great confidence from their opening victory.
The Koreans had taken a 1-0 lead after three minutes through Kim Jeong-nam but Vietnam hit back almost immediately with a goal from Nguyen Trong Thien.
Nguyen then scored three more for Vietnam, with Tran Hoang Vinh and a double from Huynh Ba Tuan also adding to the tally.
Shin Jong-hoon and Kim scored Korea Republic's second and third goals respectively.
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The AFC.comGp D: Victories for Japan and IraqSunday, 23 May 2010Tashkent: Japan strolled to a 5-1 victory over China in their opening Group D match of the AFC Futsal Championship at the IT University Complex on Sunday.
In the other Group D match, Iraq scored a 5-3 victory over Turkmenistan.
Japan, the champions here in 2006, were comfortably up 5-0 by the 27th minute before China could respond.
Takanori Kamisawa scored the first two goals in the fourth and 16th minute as his teammates Tetsuya Murakami, Kensuke Takahashi (penalty) and Yusuke Komiyama added to the scoreboard.
China scored a consolation in the dying seconds with a penalty from Liang Shuang.
Karrar Al Thabeti and Mustrafa Hamzah each scored two each for Iraq against Turkmenistan with Hussein Al Zubaidi converting a 40th-minute penalty.
Mekan Muhamedmuradov, Nuryagdy Muhammedov and Bayrammurat Esenmamedov were on target for Turkmenistan.
Iraq now take on Japan on Monday while China face Turkmenistan.
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The AFC.comGp B: Iran hit 19; Australia start strongSunday, 23 May 2010Tashkent: Defending champions Iran burst out of the blocks in the AFC Futsal Champions with a 19-2 demolition of Group B rivals Tajikistan on Sunday.
Australia emerged as the main contender to challenge Iran for top honours in the group after they beat Kuwait 4-2.
Mohammad Taheri scored seven goals, Masoud Daneshvar hit four and Mohammadreza Zahmatkesh and Hassan Ali Asghar also delivered hat-tricks as Iran shrugged off the absence of star player Vahid Shamsaee.
It was Ali Asghar who gave Iran a thundering start with his three goals coming in the opening four minutes. Also on target for Iran were Majid Raeisi and Tayyebi Mostafa.
Tajikistan’s goals came from Vasiev Dilshod, in the 26th minute and Fatkhulo Fatkhulloev, who scored after 33 minutes.
Australia went 2-0 up with two goals in quick succession in the 16th and 17th minutes through Romas Rogic and Danny Ngaluafe.
Salem Al Mekaimi pulled one back for Kuwait two minutes later but Rogic restored the two-goal advantage in the 21st minute.
Kuwait fought back yet again through Omar Al Jaser in the 39th minute, however, Rogic completed his hat-trick in the final seconds to seal victory for the Aussies.
The victory will put Australia in a buoyant mood for their crunch clash against Iran on Monday, when Tajikistan also take on Kuwait.
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The AFC.comGroup C post-match quotes from coachesSunday, 23 May 2010Tashkent: Thailand coach Jose Mendez was relieved to have overcome strong opposition after his team’s come-from-behind 4-2 victory over Kyrgyzstan in Group C of the AFC Futsal Championship on Sunday.
“Today, we had some serious opposition,” he said. “The two halves turned out to be completely different.
“We conceded two goals and then came back strongly to win. We made a lot of mistakes and I hope we can learn from them and be stronger in our next match.”
Amirzhan Mukanov, the Kyrgyz coach, had no complaints about the defeat.
“We expected a tough match and that is what we got,” said Mukanov. “We could have scored more but, as it turned out, they won and that is that.
“Despite losing, we can still do well in the group. We have set ourselves a target and hope to achieve it.”
Korean lessonsIn the other match, Vietnam beat Korea Republic 7-3, with coach Sergio Gargelli saying he expected more from the Koreans.
“We deserve praise for the victory but, frankly, I expected the Koreans to play better than they did,” said Gargelli.
“We came here as one of the weaker teams but now we are just one match away from reaching the quarter-finals. We are no longer the whipping boys.”
Korean coach Lee Chang-hwan said his team will learn from the defeat and come back stronger.
“In the first half, we were pretty much equal (Vietnam led 2-1) but they played a perfect game in the second half,” said Lee.
“We have two more games in which to play better and hopefully we can do it.”
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The AFC.comGroup B post-match quotes from coachesSunday, 23 May 2010Tashkent: There is just no pleasing Iran coach Hossein Shams. Despite his team beating Tajikistan 19-2 on the opening day of the AFC Futsal Championship 2010, Shams said he was not satisfied with the performance.
“I would like to congratulate my rival coach from Tajikistan because his team scored two goals against us,” said Shams.
“That does not happen often and I am not satisfied at how we played. I was expecting more from this team.
“I want to apologise to the spectators. In the next match, we will be better.”
As for Tajik coach Damir Kamaletdinov, defending champions Iran proved themselves to be the team to beat.
“Scoring 19 goals is an amazing achievement,” he said. “But we played the current and future champions of Asia and I am sure they will win it again for the 10th time.
“We did not set ourselves any targets coming into this game. But it was a good experience for us.”
Aussie experience
Australian coach Steven Knight said he was looking forward to meeting Iran after his team’s 4-2 victory over Kuwait in their opener.
“I am infinitely happy,” he said. “Today’s match was a great experience for my team. Tomorrow (Monday), we will be playing the fifth best team in the world and we will try to compete as much as we can.”
Kuwait’s assistant coach Ali Al Mutirreyu said “Kuwait played well but the Australians took their chances when it mattered.
“We will be going for victory in our final two matches of the group.”
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The AFC.comGroup D post-match quotes from coachesSunday, 23 May 2010Tashkent: Japanese coach Miguel Rodrigo said his side fully deserved their 5-1 victory over China in their opening Group D match of the AFC Futsal Championship 2010 on Sunday.
“It was a very good way to start the tournament,” said Rodrigo. “We deserved the win but we cannot celebrate too much now because there are still more matches.”
Japan won the tournament when it was held in Uzbekistan in 2006.
Chinese coach Guillermo Franco said he was happy with how his team played because Japan were always the stronger team.
“It is difficult to start the tournament with a loss but we looked good at times,” he said.
“There is a big difference in standards between us and Japan and the scoreline proved this.”
Iraq delightIraq also opened with a victory in Group D, beating Turkmenistan 5-3.
Iraqi coach Asaad Al Hamadani said the win would increase his team’s confidence.
“With all due respect to Turkmenistan, we deserved this victory,” he said. “It was a difficult match and we are optimistic about our future in this tournament.”
Turkmen coach Victor Kurochkin, however, said his side did not deserve to lose.
“We fought hard and played on equal terms with our opponents. We didn’t deserve to lose but we will keep on fighting and are looking forward to our next matches.”
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The AFC.comGroup A post-match quotes from coachesSunday, 23 May 2010Tashkent: Uzbekistan coach Sergio Sapo said he was expecting more from his side during their 3-1 victory over Lebanon in their opening AFC Futsal Championship 2010 match here on Sunday.
“The Lebanese team are getting better every time I see them,” said Sapo.
“But today, we were not able to play our best. Our players seemed a bit nervous and I hope that, in future games, we can display the mental toughness and strength that the fans expect from us.”
Lebanon coach Dory Zakhour, on the other hand, said his side deserved more from the match.
“We played very well today and I thought we deserved at least a draw,” said Zakhour.
Indonesian warning for Uzbeks
Indonesian coach Robby Hartono, whose team beat Chinese Taipei 6-1 on Sunday, said they have now set their sights on upsetting group favourites and home side Uzbekistan in their next match on Monday.
“We will try to win against the home masters and qualify for the next stage,” said Hartono. “Why not? A bad soldier is one who does not dream of becoming a general.
“In today’s match, we were shocked at conceding an early goal, but we settled down and eventually achieved the desired result.”
Chinese Taipei coach Chen Kuei-jen said he has no problem with the reversal, saying: “I think our opponents were much stronger than us and the 6-1 loss reflected the difference in standards.”
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