HOSTS MALAYSIA IN PLATE SEMI-FINALS

KUALA LUMPUR (1 Feb 2008) – Malaysia scored their second win of the KL World 5's beating England in a match that meant so much to their reputation as they qualify into the semi-finals of the plate division of the championship this year.

With the win, Malaysia and Indonesia will be playing in the plate semi-finals as they look to cross swords against the third and fourth team from Group B – the oppositions they will know only later tonight.
For Malaysia, the reality is that England were not much of an opposition to the hosts.
And following England’s record in the tournament, having lost all three of their matches in Group A, meant they were destined to compete in the bowl finals on Sunday, 3 February.
At the 10th min, the Stadium Negara crowd erupted after Fahdil Yusof easily tapped the ball into an empty net – the result of nifty passing by his teammates.
But even before the cheers subsided, England immediately pulled level with Alex Sykes hitting a ferocious shot that keeper D.Supramanium could barely had time to react, let alone save.
And thanks to Fahdil’s heroics, Malaysia were ahead again in the 11th min, and another quick goal from skipper Addie Azwan Zainal, the scoreline read 3-1.
England, already looking downtrodden, conceded another two quick goals in succession from Fadhil in the 25th min made it 5-1.
Fadzil Karnim made it 6-1 in the 35th min but the writing was on the wall for England and Marc Canham's 2nd goal for England in the 35th min merely provided the consolation they were looking for.
Said Graeme Dell, England's coach: "We came to KL with our eyes wide open. We knew it's going to be difficult. We certainly did not expect to win all four matches we played in our group.
"But we have learnt a lot from this trip and hopefully we will take the lesson learnt to improve our game. Of course our reputation as a footballing nation has taken a beating here but then again as I said, we are on a learning curve.
"The difference in standard between us and the rest, including Malaysia, shows that we are still new in the game and Malaysia are probably much better than us."
Malaysia's coach P. Balakrishnan: “Beating England is a great feeling and it will serve as a morale booster for the future of Malaysian futsal. But I knew we have a chance against England and we took our chances well today.
“Overall I am pleased with the performance of the team over the four matches we played where we won two (beating Indonesia as well) and losing two (to Argentine and Australia). It has been good for us."




ARGENTINA AVOIDS BRAZIL AFTER DRAW WITH AUSTRALIA

KUALA LUMPUR (1 Feb 2008) – Argentina got their wish of avoiding powerhouse Brazil in the semi-finals of the KL World 5s when they fought tooth and nail for a 3-3 draw against Australia here at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur.
But defending champions Argentina were made to toil hard for the draw, and the one point which saw them finishing at the top of Group A with 10 points – the same with Australia but on better goal difference.
"We wanted to play Brazil in the final – not the semi-finals," said Jose Fernando, the head coach of Argentina.
"But the game against Australia was very physical and since the referee allowed them to do it, they were aggressive throughout the match."
There was no denying that Australia proved they are the most improved side in the region in the manner of how they defended Argentina high up the pitch, before scoring the first goal as early as the third minute off a solo effort from Michael Skubala.
The Argentineans were hard-pressed after that and launched repeated attacks and finally saw the opening for the equaliser when Ignacio Cavilia blasted in the equaliser in the 12th minute.
But Australia trooped into the dressing room in an upbeat mood when Adrian Vizzari converted a penalty three minutes later for a 2-1 lead by the half-time break.
Argentina started stronger in the second half with a clever one-two between Alamiro Vaporaki and Pablo Basile for the latter to score, levelling the score at 2-2.
It was an even fight after that with both teams pushing hard for the winner and while Australia did finally score their third goal of the evening when Fernando de Moraes slammed home, there was no denying Argentina the one point when keeper Daniel Elias nailed the equaliser with less than a minute remaining on the clock.
"We played against one of the best teams in the world and held them to a 3-3 draw, so we should be proud of that," said Australia head coach Scott Gilligan after the game.
"Australians are known to be physical and if some people say that we are too aggressive, that is just the way we are. And tomorrow against Brazil, we will play exactly the same way."

FIXTURES and RESULTS (1 Feb, 2008)
10am: Iran vs China (6-1)
3pm: Malaysia vs England (6-2)
5pm: Australia vs Argentina (3-3)
7pm: Brazil vs Holland
9pm: Thailand vs Iran






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