END OF THE ROAD FOR HOSTS MALAYSIA IN KL WORLD 5s

KUALA LUMPUR (2nd Feb 2008) A hat-trick from Omar Neijari helped Holland to a triumphant 5-0 win over hosts Malaysia as the Dutch continued their journey to play in the Final of the Plate championship of the KL World 5s tomorrow.

The legendary Dutch coach Vic Hermans, who had previously mentored Malaysia for the Futsal World Championships in 1996, was gracious in victory when he said that Holland are not the best team in Europe, and still have some way to go to become a powerhouse of the sport.

“Malaysia should not take this defeat in a bad way because the truth is that if they do not have a proper Futsal league, then they will always struggle against teams which have them,” said Hermans.

“Even in Holland, we had just started a Futsal league and we are nowhere near the top teams like Spain or Italy. We have put some semblance of organisation in place and we will only reap the rewards probably in ten years time.

“If we don’t win this game (against Malaysia) I will feel very bad although I must say that I’m not too happy with the performance of some of the players who are already thinking of playing against Iran tomorrow.”

The absence of Jamhuri Zainuddin failed to steady the Malaysian defence. And with Holland’s Antoine Merlino returning back to his team from injuries, it did not take too long for them to carve out the lead.

Neijari nailed his hat-trick with goals in the third, 11th and 24th minute, before an own goal from Malaysia’s Muizzudin Haris four minutes after the restart compounded the misery for his team.

A solo effort from Adil Salih completed the win for Holland as they look forward to playing against the winner of the Iran-Indonesa tie for the Plate title.

“We managed to keep the score low in the first half, but it was always going to be difficult to play without Jamhuri,” added P. Balakrishnan, the head coach for Malaysia.

“But generally, we have had a good tournament where we had the opportunity to play against some tough teams, and this should go well for our AFC Futsal Championship preparation.”




THUMPING DEFEAT FOR INDONESIA AS IRAN MAKES PLATE FINAL

KUALA LUMPUR (2nd Feb 2008) Indonesia was on the wrong end of a 13-1 result in its semi-final Plate competition tie against Iran to end its KL World 5s campaign at Stadium Negara.

The match was highlighted by Mohd Reza Zahmatkesh four-goal performance, and his teammates will certainly look for a similar performance from him when they take on Holland for the Plate final tomorrow.

The score line may describe a thrashing, but Indonesia’s gutsy performance drew praise from the coach of the eight-time Asian champions.

“This tournament has been an eye-opener for us and where it has taught us how to cope when we have to play two matches in one day. And today after the good rest last night, we played our usual game against a much improved side from Indonesia,” said Hosein Shams, the head coach for Iran.

“And while some might think that it was a stroll for us against Indonesia considering the score line, the fact is that the game was a lot harder. And now we are looking forward to the opportunity of playing against Holland tomorrow.”

Up against one of the top ten teams in the world, Indonesia started brightly and defended well in the opening ten minutes to restrict Iran to just a few chances.

But once the floodgates opened in the ninth minute, when Mohamad Keshavari rounded off Indonesian keeper Yos Adi Wicaksono for the lead, there was no stopping the Iranian onslaught.

Iran made sure of their win with goals from Masoud Daneshvar (13th minute), Mohamad Latifi (14th minute), Zahmatkesh (17th, 26th, 28th and 33rd), Javad Moghaddam (19th, 20th), Ali Hassanzadeh (21st), Vahid Shamsaee (25th), Kazem Mohammadi (32nd) and Mohammad Taheri (39th).

Indonesia’s only goal of the afternoon came from Socrates Matulessy in the 32nd minute.

“The first ten minutes was good but the players became tired after that which led to the first goal. And from then on, there was just no stopping Iran,” added Justinus Lhaksana, the head coach for Indonesia.

“But the Iranians were so much better than the Argentineans with their slick passing and incredible control of the ball. And with us making so many individual mistakes, we paid dearly for it.”




DEFENDING CHAMPIONS ARGENTINA REACH KL WORLD 5’s FINAL

KUALA LUMPUR (2nd Feb 2008) Argentina gained their rightful place in the final of the KL World 5’s at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur.

The South Americans fended off the challenge from Thailand in their Cup Competition semi-final clash today (Saturday), and earned the right for a shot at the title and the US$150,000 prize purse for the second time.

The defending champions were always the favourite to beat the Thais. Nevertheless, the Asean champion did not make it easy for them.

Their spirit was given a tremendous lift after their victory over the Asian champion Iran on Friday night and similarly against the Argentineans, the Thais never backed down.

They wanted to win and the band of travelling supporters kept willing them on too.

It was a see-saw affair in the beginning with Argentina scoring first with Christian Borruto, their top marksman hitting the target in the 9th min for his tenth goal. The Thais responded almost immediately and Ekapong Suratsawang levelled the score in the 11th min.

The Argentineans pulled ahead again in the 12th min via Pablos Basile, and then the Thais saw their skipper Panuwat Janta shown the red card, which became the turning point of the game.

The numerical disadvantage allowed the Argentineans to pull further ahead with skipper Josoy Godoy stretching its lead to 3-1 in the 13th min. It was 4-1 in the 19th min again through the lethal right foot of Godoy and the Thais knew it was all over.

Anucha Munjaren reduced the deficit in the 29th min to give the Thais a glimmer of a hope at 4-2, but the promise of a revival was wiped out when Ignacio Cavigla restored Argentina’s three-goal advantage with their fifth goal of the match in the very next minute.

The Thais valiantly scored once more though Anucha at the 39th min, but that would be the final goal of the match to finish the game 5-3, with the Argentineans home and dry for the Cup final.

Said Thai team manager Adisak Benjasriwan: “We played to our maximum ability given the strength of our squad. We had three key players out injured, and against the Argentineans we cannot afford not to have a full team.

“But we can hold our heads high. To lose 5-3 to a world power in Futsal is no shame. The Argentineans are a tough team to beat. They have so much experience and they know when to press us and when to slow down the tempo.

Argentina’s coach Fernando Larranaga: “We are in the final and that’s the most important thing. But whether we win the title or not is a different story. I look forward to the final and you will see an Argentinean side which will be under no pressure to win.

“I have decided that the team will go out there and enjoy themselves. Beating Thailand today is a good result for us. They are a strong team and better than many other South American teams I’ve seen.”




BRAZIL AND ARGENTINA REMATCH FOR THE KL WORLD 5’s CUP FINAL

KUALA LUMPUR (1st Feb 2008) Brazil are in the final of the KL World 5’s where Argentina lies in wait for a mouth-watering clash for the illustrious Cup Competition.

Their 7-0 thumping of Australia in their semi-final at the Stadium Negara today (Saturday) has given the Brazilians a second bite at the cherry and the opportunity to make amends after the 2-3 loss which allowed the Argentineans to take home the trophy in 2003.

When reminded of this, Brazilian coach Paulo Oliveira expressed his sentiments for the final, and said, “Revenge is what we are after now.”

Australia was clearly no match for the Brazilians right from the start. A 3rd min goal from William Morais and then another in the 8th min from Lenisio Junior proved that Brazil meant business and that the physical strength of the Australians displayed was no hindrance.

Joao Carvalho increased the lead to 3-0 in the 17th min and by then the legendary Falcao (AlessandroVeira), Brazil’s most celebrated Futsal player, made his appearance after missing out on the earlier two matches because of a thigh injury.

Another four goals in the second period – a brace from Morais in the 23rd and 24th; and two more from Junior in the 24th and Alex Roza in the 28th - completed the rout.

Said Brazil’s coach Paulo Oliveira: “We lost to Argentina in two important matches. First of course was the final of the KL World 5’s in 2003 and then we also lost to them in the final of the World Championship South American zone qualifier in 2004. Maybe it’s time for Brazil to take revenge for the two important losses.

Said Paulo Oliveira about his strategy for the final: “Argentina, I believe will try to defend because they know what we are capable of. For us we will certainly attack even though we are a little tired now after five matches.”

Australia's coach Scott Gilligan, whose side drew 3-3 with Argentina in Group A, said: “Without a doubt, the Brazilians are the best team in the tournament and they are a class above the Argentineans. We just experienced how tough it was to play them. It was like going up against a brickwall.

“But we are thankful for the lesson we learn here, especially from the Brazilians. But it takes a lot to beat them. You need brawn and brains too.”





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