BANGKOK (23 April 2012) – After breezing through their first three matches and scoring a whopping 67 goals, Thailand faced their toughest opponents today in the form of a young and spirited Indonesian side.
Thailand claimed victory today but it did not come easy as Indonesia battled them all the way and restricted them to a 6-1 win at the Bangkok Thonburi Stadium this evening.
“This is the type of game I wanted. The first few matches were too easy, the players learn nothing,” said Victor Hermans, the chief coach of Thailand.
Thailand, seven-time AFF Futsal champions, have thus completed their fixtures with maximum points and are the Group B winners. The hosts will now face Malaysia, runners-up in the other group, in the semifinals on Wednesday.
Indonesia will take on Group A champions Vietnam in the other semis battle.
Thailand had a good start as nippy striker Kritsada Wongkaeo snatched possession away from a defender and rammed his team ahead. If the crowd was expecting the goals to flow in as in previous games, they were wrong as the Indonesians held their ground.
Skipper Randhyas Syamsul Bahri did a fine job marshalling his team but the skilful playmaker could only do so much against the massive Thai onslaught.
In the sixth minute, there was a bit of a scramble in front of goal and Apiwat Chaemcharoen somehow managed to flick it in. And then in the 10th minute, star player Suphawut Thueanklang, who usually has a knack for scoring early goals, finally got his name on the scoresheet. It was a brilliant goal as he latched on to a corner kick at the top of the box and first-timed his shot in.
Jetsada Chudech made it 4-0 before the whistle. But moments before that, Indonesia almost broke through however Karami Balfas could not keep his shot down.
Indonesia surprised the hosts three minutes after resumption when Nur Ali slipped one through. The Indonesians tried hard to contain their opponents but would concede two more goals – Piyapun Ratana (33rd) and Suphawut (34th) – before the end of the game.
In the meantime, a recharged Brunei swept past Timor Leste 5-4 in their final game in Group B this evening to pick up their first three points in the competition.
The Bruneians, who had the day off yesterday, were more fresh in attacking options, as Fachri Bangkul scored the lead on fourth minute to be followed by Mohd Faiz Hasnan (7th minute), Safwan Safri (10th) and Faizul Zaini (16th and 17th).
All four goals for the Timorese were scored by Manuel Pereira (6th, 8th, 23rd and 26th minute).
PIX: Thai fans in full colours
AFF FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2012 FIXTURES and RESULTS
| Date | Match
No. |
Group | Match | Time | Venue | SCORE | |
| 19-
Apr-12 |
1
2 3 4 |
A
A B B |
Cambodia vs Malaysia
Myanmar vs Philippines Timor Lestevs Indonesia Laos vs Brunei |
1130
1400 1630 1900 |
Bangkok Thonburi Stadium | 0 – 8
4 – 5 1 – 16 8 – 6 |
|
| 20-
Apr-12 |
5
6 7 8 |
A
A B B |
Philippines vs Vietnam
Myanmar vs Cambodia Brunei DS vs Thailand Laos vs Timor Leste |
1130
1400 1700 1930 |
Bangkok Thonburi Stadium | 1 – 6
7 – 6 0 – 22 4 – 3 |
|
| 21-
Apr-12 |
9
10 11 12 |
A
B A B |
Vietnam vs Myanmar
Thailand vs Laos Malaysia vs Philippines Indonesia vs Brunei |
1130
1400 1630 1900 |
Bangkok Thonburi Stadium | 3 – 0
26 – 2 4 – 1 9 – 2 |
|
| 22-
Apr-12 |
13
14 15 16 |
A
B A B |
Myanmar vs Malaysia
Timor Leste vs Thailand Cambodia vs Vietnam Laos vs Indonesia |
1130
1400 1630 1900 |
Bangkok Thonburi Stadium | 0 – 5
1 – 19 1 – 4 2 – 12 |
|
| 23-
Apr-12 |
17
18 19 20 |
A
A B B |
Philippines vs Cambodia
Malaysia vs Vietnam Indonesia vs Thailand Brunei vs Timor Leste |
1130
1400 1630 1900 |
Bangkok Thonburi Stadium | 5 – 9
2 – 7 1 – 6 5 – 4 |
|
| 24-Apr | Rest Day | ||||||
| 25-
Apr-12 |
21
22 |
SF1
SF2 |
Vietnam vs Indonesia
Thailand vs Malaysia |
1400
1700 |
Bangkok Thonburi | ||
| 26-Apr | Rest Day | ||||||
| 27-
Apr-12 |
23
24 |
3rd/4th
Final |
Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2
Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 |
1400
1700 |
Bangkok Thonburi | ||
FINAL STANDINGS
Group A
| TEAM |
P |
W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
| Vietnam | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | +16 | 12 |
| Malaysia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 8 | +11 | 9 |
| Cambodia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 24 | -8 | 3 |
| Myanmar | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 19 | -8 | 3 |
| Philippines | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 23 | -11 | 3 |
Group B
| TEAM |
P |
W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
| Thailand | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 4 | +69 | 12 |
| Indonesia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 11 | +27 | 9 |
| Brunei DS | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 43 | -30 | 0 |
| Laos | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 48 | -33 | 3 |
| Timor Leste | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 43 | -33 | 3 |
