Courtesy: The AFC.com


Chen and Lo hit the high notes

Tuesday, 15 November 2011

Kuala Lumpur: Lo Chih-en and Chen Po-hao both scored four times as Chinese Taipei cruised to an emphatic 12-1 victory over Macau in their Group B 2012 AFC Futsal Championship - East Zone qualifier on Monday.

Lo opened the scoring five minutes into the game at the Cheras Indoor Stadium and added another in nine minutes and after Lo Chih-an and Hsieh Meng-hsuan both struck in the 15th minute Lo Chih-en completed his hat-trick two minutes later to give Chinese Taipei a commanding five-goal lead going into the break.

Weng wei-pin made in six three minutes after the interval before Chen Po-hao struck a quickfire hat-trick, scoring twice in the 24th minute and a third three minutes later as the goals continued to flow.

Lo Chi-en got his fourth and Chinese Taipei's tenth 60 seconds after Chen completed his treble and after Shih Shin-an got his name on the scoresheet in the 37th minute Chen got his fourth with a minute left on the clock.

There was still time for one more goal but it was to come from Macau, with Leong Chong In scoring a consolation on the stroke of full-time.



Courtesy: The AFC.com


Just the beginning for Jargal

Tuesday, 15 November 2011

Kuala Lumpur: Mongolia may have failed to make it to the 2012 AFC Futsal Championship with two defeats in the East Zone qualifiers but their performances in their international futsal debut has laid the foundations for a positive future in the sport according to history-making Tastsral Jargal.

Jargal etched his name in the annals of his country's futsal history when he came off the bench to score Mongolia's first international goal, finding the net in the 28th minute of the 5-1 defeat to inaugural AFC Futsal Championship runners-up Korea Republic but couldn't add to the his tally as Ishdorj Otgonbayar's inexperienced side put in another creditable display in Monday's 3-0 defeat to Hong Kong.

"The game against the Koreans was the first-ever international futsal match for Mongolia and I made the first goal and I hope to score the second and third goals for my country in the future but it is just the beginning for us," Jargal told www.the-afc.com after Mongolia's campaign came to an end against the former British colony.

"The Koreans were a very strong team that has so many good players who have both speed and skill but we did our best.

"We though Hong Kong were not as strong as Korea and we were thinking we could beat them so it's a pity that we lost to them. I don't think that the gap between the two of us is really that big."

Mongolia's mission to close the gaps between themselves and the more established futsal-playing nations in Asia was given a massive boost recently with the opening of an international-standard futsal arena, financed by FIFA's Goal Project.

And that bodes well for the future particularly, as Jargal explained, Mongolia's participation in the 2012 AFC Futsal Championship was a journey into the unknown.

"Futsal in Mongolia is still very new and not so well-known," said the 24-year-old, who has only recently returned to his homeland having lived in Japan since the age of nine.

"The infrastructure is not so strong yet but mentally we were fully prepared for the qualifiers and we were hoping that the people of Mongolia would get to know about futsal and their national team through this competition."

Jargal admitted that he himself is a newcomer to the game with the Mongolia international striker, who featured in the first-leg of the AFC Challenge Cup pre-qualifying match with the Philippines, taking up the indoor game in order to take part in the AFC Futsal Championship qualifiers.

"To be honest I just started playing futsal to join this competition," revealed Jargal, admitting that switching codes is not without its challenges.

"Some of us are still not so familiar with the rules and sometimes there was a bit of confusion but from the two matches we played here we can see the new trend in futsal and how established international sides play.

"I hope Mongolian futsal players get many more chances and also get the opportunity to learn from top coaches from abroad."




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