Courtesy: AFF Web Site


AFF FUTSAL: Thailand and Malaysia secure semi-final slots

April 22, 2012

BANGKOK (22 April 2012) – Seven-time AFF Futsal champions Thailand and Malaysia were among the first two teams to secure their places in the semifinals of the AFF Futsal Championship after recording victories over Timor Leste and Myanmar at the Bangkok Thonburi Stadium today.

Thailand, the hot favourites again this year, whipped Timor Leste 19-1 to take their total bounty of goals after three matches to 67. In the first two games, the hosts reeled in 48 goals.

In the earlier match today, Mohd Asmie Amir Zahari and Ahmad Fawzul Hadzir Mohamad scored two goals each to steer Malaysia to a 5-0 win over Myanmar.

Against Timor Leste today, Thailand were without their star player Suphawut Thueanklan but still proved to be too strong for their opponents. Jetsada Chudech opened the floodgates in the second minute and by the fifth minute Thailand were already up by three goals.

Jetsada went on to add two more goals while Kritsada Wongkaeo and Nattawut Madyalan also struck twice each to provide Thailand with a comfortable 11-0 lead at the break.

Thailand’s top scorers today were Kristada and Jetsada with four goals each.

In the first match of the day, Malaysia went ahead through Mohd Asmie after five minutes. That fired up the Malaysians and they slowly but surely began to break down their opponents. Mohd Asmie added a second while Ahmad Fawzul made it 3-0 at halftime.

Just when it looked like Ahmad Fawzul’s fourth goal was the last for the Malaysians, Muhammad Fariq stepped up and blasted a last minute penalty.

It was Malaysia’s third win in a row after earlier victories over Cambodia and the Philippines. With nine points in the bag, Malaysia are through despite having one more group match against Vietnam tomorrow.

Vietnam, which play bottom-placed Cambodia later this evening, are likely to land the other semis slot from Group A. The last group match between Malaysia and Vietnam tomorrow will determine the top two positions.




Courtesy: AFF Web Site


AFF FUTSAL: Vietnam, Indonesia complete semi-final cast

April 22, 2012

BANGKOK (22 April 2012) – The cast for the AFF Futsal Championship semifinals is complete. Vietnam and Indonesia made sure of their spots in the last four after winning their respective group matches at the Bangkok Thonburi Stadium evening.

Earlier in the afternoon session, seven-time defending champions Thailand and Malaysia had booked their semifinal slots following victories over Myanmar and Timor Leste.

All four teams won their first three matches and have a maximum of nine points each. All that’s left now is to find out the line-up for the semifinals. This, however, will only be decided tomorrow after the last group matches are held.

In the third match of the day, Cambodia put up a brave fight before eventually going down 4-1 to Vietnam in a Group A tie. Vietnam had taken the lead during a two-minute first half blitz that saw Pham Thanh Dat and Phung Trong Luan hit the mark.

Cambodia came charging back minutes later when I Sothearith flicked to an unmarked Prom Yaneat on the right and he easily tapped it in. Cambodia worked tirelessly to get the equaliser but in the end, it was Vietnam who raced further ahead.

In another smashing blitz, Vietnam scored twice in as many minutes through Pham Thanh Tuan (33rd) and Nguyen Trong Thien (34th) to ensure full points today and more importantly their place in the semifinals.

In the final match of the day, a Group B fixture, Indonesia did not have much problems putting down an early Laos assault to claim a 12-2 victory tonight. The Laos players surprisingly took the fight to their opponents and could have easily gone at least two goals up in the first few minutes but poor finishing put an end to their hopes.

Things changed for good in the seventh minute when Randhyas Syamsul Bahri raced down the middle and blasted his team ahead. The bench was on its feet just a minute later as Andri Kustiawan doubled the score.

Indonesia struck three times in two minutes through Karami Balfas, Fachri Reza and Roni Alamsyah before Rahmad Budiman rounded it up to 6-0 before the break.

Laos had a better second half and created more chances for themselves, and their efforts were rewarded by two goals from the speedy Chantavong Anouthone. Indonesia’s other goals came from Randhyas (22nd), Rahmad (28th, 37th), Karami (32nd), Roni (38th) and Septian Cahya (40th).

Indonesia will face Thailand at 4.30pm while Malaysia and Vietnam square-off at 2pm tomorrow.




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