INDONESIA EAGER TO PROVE PROWESS; MALAYSIA OUT FOR REVENGE

Indonesian head coach Robby Hartono said the team will have to put their 6-0 thrashing they recorded over the Malaysian in a round robin match earlier behind them as the final will be ‘a more serious affair.’

“Following our qualification into the AFC Futsal Championship after the Jakarta qualifiers last month, there is a real need for us to continue to improve our standard,” said Robby.

“There is a real need for us to show stability in our approach to matches and so far, I’m happy with the way we have varied our game and showed a lot of confidence in our attacking play.

“For the final, I’m expecting more of the same from the players although they have to be mentally strong when they face Malaysia. I hope that they will not think it will be an easy match just because they have beaten the Malaysians before.”

With the absence of kingpins Thailand, the Indonesians have emerged as the team to beat for the current championship and they have certainly proved their prowess with a perfect record in the tournament with four wins out of four.

Enroute, they have also scored a total of 19 goals as against conceding five and they seem poise to win their first ever ASEAN Futsal crown.

For the Malaysians, they will be looking to not only win the overall title for the first time but also avenge the defeat they suffered at the hands of Indonesia in the semi-finals of the Jakarta qualifiers.

Malaysian head coach Maizal Marzuki said that the team was still reeling from their failure to qualify for the AFC Futsal Championship for the first time in years.

And after beating Vietnam just yesterday, the Malaysians will be out to do the same to Indonesia.

“We proved in our win over Vietnam that we are capable of playing good Futsal and that when push comes to shove, the players can deliver what’s expected of them,” added Hamidin.

“For the final, I believe that we are under no pressure as compared to Indonesia. They will be confident while we will go in as the underdogs.

“We will stick to the same game plan that we have adopted up to this point and maintain the same level of teamwork.”

RESULTS and FIXTURES

5 April 2010: MALAYSIA 5 PHILIPPINES 3/ VIETNAM 8 MYANMAR 1

6 April 2010: PHILIPPINES 0 VIETNAM 4/ INDONESIA 7 MYANMAR 4

7 April 2010: INDONESIA 6 MALAYSIA 0/ PHILIPPINES 5 MYANMAR 2

8 April 2010: MALAYSIA 2 MYANMAR 0/ VIETNAM 1 INDONESIA 2

9 April 2010: PHILIPPINES INDONESIA 4/ VIETNAM MALAYSIA 2

10 April 2010: REST DAY

11 April 2010: Indonesia vs. Malaysia (1530)

FINAL ROUND-ROBIN STANDINGS

1. INDONESIA 12pts (+14)

2. MALAYSIA 9pts (-4)

3. VIETNAM 6pts (+12)

4. PHILIPPINES 3pts (-7)

5. MYANMAR 0pt (-15)