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The AFC.comLebanon 3-2 Chinese TaipeiSaturday, 26 May 2012Dubai: Lebanon rekindled their chances of a fourth consecutive quarter-final appearance in the AFC Futsal Championship with a 3-2 win over Chinese Taipei at the Al Wasl Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
Looking to bounce back from their heart-breaking 3-2 loss to Group B favourites Japan the Lebanese went on the offensive right from the start and took a two-goal lead thanks to Khaled Takaji, Kassem Kawsan only for Chinese Taipei keeper Pan Wen-chieh and captain to level the tie and send the two sides into the break on a level footing.
Takaji made it 3-2 five minutes after the restart with what transpired to be the winning goal.
Lebanon welcomed back Ali Tneich and Jean Koutany after the duo missed the defat to Japan through suspension while Chinese Taipei coach Tsai Chia Feng started with Pan Wen-chieh in goal instead of Shih Shin-an, who was beaten six times as the East Asians let slip a 3-0 lead to lose 6-4 to Tajikistan in their opening Group B fixture.
And Pan was beaten for the first time with three minutes played when Lebanon skipper Khaled Takaji skipped past Chang Han and fired an unstoppable drive past the Chinese Taipei keeper.
Two minutes later it was 2-0 and Takaji was instrumental in the goal, spreading the ball wide to Karim Abou Zeid whose low cross set up Kassem Kawsan for his second goal of the tournament.
Chinese Taipei pulled one back in the 15th minute in stunning fashion when a kick-in was knocked back to Pan midway inside his own half and the keeper unleashed a thunderous shot that took his Lebanese counterpart Rabie El Kakhi could do nothing about.
The goal galvanised the East Asians and two minutes later they were level courtesy of captain Liu Chi-cho, who fired home his second of the campaign after being teed up by Hsu Yi's free-kick.
In the 25th minute Takaji restored Lebanon's lead, firing home from a tight angle after Tneich's shot spun into his path after being deflected by Chang.
The Lebanon skipper's second of the game completed the win that reignited their hopes of a place in the last eight but despite the victory head coach Francisco Araujo was far from pleased with the performance.
"We were 2-0 up and playing well but I was surprised to see the players lose attention and intensity and that is why we conceded the two goals," said the Spaniard.
"We played better in the second-half but it has come to my attention that we have a tendency to relax when we take the lead in matches."
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The AFC.comKuwait 9-3 IndonesiaSaturday, 26 May 2012Dubai: A brilliant four-goal haul from Abdulrahman Altaweel took Kuwait inches closer to the quarterfinals of the AFC Futsal Championship 2012 as they sent Indonesia back home with a thumping 9-3 win on Saturday.
The 21-year old Kuwait SC’s youngster, notched his goals in the 10th, 13th, 24th and 33rd minute while Abdulrahman Alwadi also grabbed his hattrick scoring in the 6th, 26th and 35th minute while there were goal apiece from Hassan Fawaz and Shaker Almutairi.
“Honestly, I would have taken the results with both the hands as I was thinking of a very evenly balanced match,” Kuwait coach Fonseca Cilleros said. But the Spaniard also admitted that barring the result, the match was evenly balanced as Indonesia was the one who were rampant in the opening period and deservedly took the lead.
Danny Handoyo gave Indonesia an ideal lead in the 3rd minute but Kuwait started to find their rhythm back and hit back into the match in the sixth minute from Alwadi whose hattrick was eclipsed by Altaweel’s four-goal heroics.
“Everybody talks about him (Altaweel) but I believe in the team. May be he is our main goalscoring threat but there are other members in the team who are equally good,” Celleros said about Altaweel who had scored five goals in the West Zone qualifiers including the one in 3-2 final loss against Qatar.
Going behind 4-1, Indonesia – the first team to eliminate in the competition – hit back with Bayu Bambang’s goal in the 28th minute but Kuwait never allowed them to bounce back into the match.
“We need to work on our finishing in future as it let us down in this tournament,” said Indonesian coach Andri Irawan. “Against China, we lost with lesser margin but in terms of how we approached the game, today we were far better,” he said.
Irawan also praised Kuwait for punishing them in every possible chance. “They were clinical in finishing while we suffered in that area,” he stressed.
Kuwait go top of the table with four points from two matches and have a golden opportunity to finish top of Group D and potentially avoid Iran in the quarterfinal. They will take on China on Sunday while Indonesia will play for pride against Uzbekistan.
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The AFC.comTajikistan 1-6 JapanSaturday, 26 May 2012Dubai: Japan booked their place in the quarter-finals of the 2012 AFC Futsal Championship with a game to spare following an emphatic 6-1 win over Tajikistan on Saturday.
Japan’s victory at the Al Wasl Indoor Stadium took their points tally to six, three more than Lebanon and Tajikistan who go head-to-head on Sunday to see which of them join the 2006 AFC Futsal Championship winners in the last-eight of the 2012 tournament.
Japan took the lead after just six seconds when captain Yusuke Komiyama received possession on the right side of the area after Alisher Ulmasov was unable to cut out the cross and lashed the ball past Shukhrat Bibudov before Japan doubled their advantage four minutes later when the Tajik goalkeeper misjudged Tetsuya Murakami’s powerful low shot.
Tajikistan reduced the deficit barely a minute later when a mistake in the Japanese defence allowed Mansur Mamedbaev to slip the ball through the legs of keeper Hisamatsu Kawahara.
Japan restored their two-goal lead in the ninth minute when Kotaro Inaba converted Nobuya Osodo’s cross before Murakami scored his second in style, driving the ball into the top corner of the Tajikistan goal with power and precision after being set-up by Kenichiro Kogure two minutes later.
Four minutes into the second period it was 5-1 with Inaba getting his second of the match before Japan’s match-winner in the 3-2 win over Lebanon Rafael Henmi swept home number six with just over three minutes left on the clock.
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The AFC.comTurkmenistan 1-5 ThailandSaturday, 26 May 2012Dubai: Thailand confirmed their place in the quarter-finals of the 2012 AFC Futsal Championship as ASEAN champions defeated Turkmenistan 5-1 on Saturday in the second of their three Group A fixtures.
Thailand's defeat of Kyrgyzstan in their opening fixture means that they will advance on account of a better head-to-head record even if the three-time AFC Futsal Championship semi-finalists win their remaining two games.
Thailand, runners-up at the 2008 AFC Futsal Championship, went into their second match at the Al Wasl Indoor Stadium looking to claim another Central Asian scalp following their 2-0 victory over Kyrgyzstan on Friday.
And they took a third minute lead when Suphawut Thueanklang's shot from an acute angle went over the line after Nuryagdy Muhammedov couldn't clear the danger but their advantage lasted a matter of seconds with a fine strike from Vatan Atayev levelling for the Turkmen.
Thailand regained the initiative in the sixth minute when Nattavut Madyalan cut the ball back to the unmarked Apiwat Chaemcharoen for the 20-year-old Lampang United striker to tap in his second of the campaign.
Some superb trickery on the wing saw Jirawat Sornwichian set up Suphawut's second of the match in the ninth minute which was the final goal in the first period as Thailand went into the break with a 3-1 lead.
That lead was finally extended with four minutes remaining when Konghla Lakka charged forward from his own half to score a fine solo effort before Kritsada Wongkaeo added a fifth in the 39th minute as Thailand took advantage of the space created as Turkmenistan employed the power play.
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The AFC.comChina 1-2 UzbekistanSaturday, 26 May 2012Dubai: Ardus duo Sviridov Konstantin and Dilshod Irsaliev scored a goal apiece as Uzbekistan registered its first victory in the AFC Futsal Championship defeating China 2-1 in one of the highly charged affairs of the tournament on Saturday.
Uzbekistan came from behind after China took an early lead through captain Hu Jie in the 4th minute. Sviridov brought the match at 1-1 level in the 19th minute and Dilshod, the scorer against Kuwait on Saturday, scored the winner in the 36th minute.
Uzbekistan survived a late scare when China were awarded penalty with less than two minutes to go but Liang Zhao’s shot was saved by Uzbek goalie Rustam Umarov.
After Jie’s early goal, Uzbekistan were marginally a better sides but the match was evenly contested with both the sides misfiring in front of the goal. Ardus forward Sviridov ensured the Uzbeks go to the halftime with honours even by finding the net in the 19th minutes off the rebound off China goalie Cong Lin.
Referee Nurdin Bukuev showed red card to China’ captain and goalscorer just one minute into the second half which was, according to China coach Franco Carvalho Guilherme, was the turning point of the match.
“I have a reservation on that decision, players just get away with those minor fouls but we lost our captain, who is also our key player,” he said after the match.
“Uzbekistan were brilliant, so we were. A goalscoring draw would have been a fair result,” said the Brazilian who termed Zhao’s missed penalty as ‘part of the game’.
When it looked like that both the sides were sharing points, Dilshod received a rebound off goalie Cong and coolly directed it inside the net while getting the winner.
“It was a tough match indeed, China played well but after a weak start yesterday against Kuwait we found our groove back,” Uzbekistan’s Spanish coach Pazos Mandez Jose Maria said.
“I am happy with the performance and there are some individual mistakes, like the one that was resulted in the penalty so we have to be careful in future,” he said.
“Now we have to beat Indonesia which will be a tough game as they have nothing to lose and they are very strong team,” he quipped.
Uzbekistan is level on points with leaders Kuwait who enjoy healthy goal difference due to their mammoth 9-3 win over Indonesia earlier. For China to remain in the tournament, they must beat Kuwait on Sunday as anything less than that would not be sufficient for them. China’s captain Hu Jie is suspended to feature against Kuwait.
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The AFC.comKyrgyzstan 3-1 UAESaturday, 26 May 2012Dubai: Kyrgyzstan brought themselves back into contention for a place in the quarter-finals after scoring three second-half goals to defeat 2012 AFC Futsal Championship hosts the UAE 3-1 on Saturday.
Victorious Kyrgyzstan coach Amirzhan Mukanov attributed the victory to a tactical switch at half-time that took advantage of the tiring hosts.
“We had some good chances in the first-half but we couldn’t take them and during the break I told my players to make more use of the flanks,” he said.
“I saw that the UAE were tiring and we adopted a 1-2-1 formation to create more space and allow more passes to free players.”
After a scrappy first-half Kyrgyzstan broke the deadlock two minutes after the interval after skipper Nurjan Djetybaev teed up Rustam Ermekov who unleashed a blistering low drive the flew past the out-stretched leg of UAE keeper Jabir Mohamed, who had made a couple of crucial saves in the opening period.
The UAE went 2-0 down in the 32nd minute when Marat Duvanev’s free-kick took a wicked deflection off Abdelaziz Abdulla sending the ball past Mohamed who had no time to adjust his position and make the save.
And things got worse for the UAE three minutes later and again it was a free-kick that was their undoing, with Djetybaev’s set-piece collected by Emil Kanetov on Jabir’s right-hand post and bundled into the net from close range.
With three minutes left on the clock Tariq Abdulla pulled one back for the UAE but it was too little too late for the hosts who now need to better Kyrgyzstan’s result against Turkmenistan when they face already-qualified Thailand in the final round of fixtures on Sunday.
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The AFC.comQatar 0-8 IranSaturday, 26 May 2012Dubai: Iran continued their exceptional start of the campaign with yet another big margin 8-0 victory over Qatar to book a place in the semifinal after playing only two matches of the AFC Futsal Championship 2012.
The 10-time continental champions have already wrecked up 22 goals conceding two in the tournament. The Iran’s win also ensured Australia’s entry into the semifinal as both the sides will meet on Sunday to decide the Group C winner.
The bright aspect for Iran in the match was the return of goalscoring best from veteran Vahid Shamsaee who scored a brace in the 23rd and 31st minute. Vahid had missed out the Uzbekistan finals of AFC Futsal Championship in 2010.
Playing his first official international tournament, Hossein Tayebi also scored two goals while there were goal apiece for Mohammad Keshavarz, Hassan Ali Asghar, Mohammed Taheri and Ahmadi Hamid.
Iran were so dominant in the match that, they were 2-0 up in the second minute of the match with Al Rayyan forward Taheri scoring the goal only after 29 seconds. Keshavarz made his tally to three goals in the second minute and the floodgates opened.
“It turned up exactly how we expected,” Iran coach Sanei Arani Ali said. “We knew that Qatar would sit at the back and defend but we had to attack smartly,” he said adding that the match was like training for the Iranians.
“We will be having difficult matches in future so we must make sure that we avoid over doing things and burn out before those big ties,” he added.
His counterpart Abdel Benaim also admitted that there was a difference in the quality of those two opponents.
“We knew this coming because there is a huge gap between us and Iran. But I am happy with my players’ effort as the four second half goals came from mistakes meaning those could have been avoided,” Qatar’s Spanish coach Abdel Bennim said.
“I am not a magician and being debutant it’s a beginning so it will take time but I am sure these young boys would turn good once they are experienced as the average age of my team is just around 24. We have a big match coming against Korea Republic – big match in a sense that both the sides are desperate to go at least with something from the tournament.”
Iran will take on Australia at Al Wasl Stadium as the match would determine the winner of Group C while pointless Korea Republic and Qatar will try to earn first point in the last match of the campaign.
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The AFC.comKorea Rep 0-6 AustraliaSunday, 27 May 2012Dubai: Australia will have to wait for the results of the match between Iran and Qatar to know whether they are in the semifinals of the AFC Futsal Championship 2012 with a match to spare as they thrashed Korea Republic 6-0 on Saturday at the Al Shabab Club Stadium.
Fernando Lima De Moraes scored a brace for the Futsalroos while Peter Spathis, Gregory Giovenali, Tobais Guang Hua Seeto and Daniel Fogarty scored a goal apiece in the Group C encounter. Australia lead the table with six points from two matches.
The Futsalroos were clinical in counter attack as the Koreans, desperate to overcome Saturday’s thrashing by Iran and needing a win to stay in the competition, came all out before Fernando Lima De Moraes’ opener.
“We were doing fine before they went 1-0 up but things fall apart after conceding the first goal and part of the blame goes to my substitution,” Korean coach Lee Chang-hwan said after the match.
Korea sipped up 20 goals in first two matches but Lee is optimistic that the futsal future in is bright for the Koreans. “We are progressing, it will take time and if we manage to play more international matches in future, I am sure we will definitely get stronger in future,” he philosophically added.
Korea started aggressively but Moraes’ brace in the 15th and 19th minute left no option for them than to become adventurous.
“I was expecting the backlash of the Iran match from them,” Australia coach Steven Knight said. “At this amateur level, players sometime fall under pressures so we had to be very cautious in the beginning but with the progression of the match we got it right,” he added.
“Even we knew that they will rely on power-play later so we also had sessions on that and successfully dealt with that,” Knight was referring those two goals scored from their own half from Dural Warriors’ Gregory Giovenali in the 33rd minute and goalkeeper Peter Spathis’s 40th minute goal as the Sydney City Eagles’ custodian scored from his own half inside Korea’s vacant net.
“We will face Iran next and you have to respect the world’s elite so we will go into the match with our conservative mindset but our eyes are in the quartfinals, which would be a really big match for the whole of Australia,” he added.
The top four finishers of the AFC Futsal Championship directly qualify for the FIFA Futsal World Cup to be held in Thailand later this year.
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