INDONESIA WIN AFF FUTSAL 2010

The scored in the first half was 1-0 to the advantage of Indonesia.

“I believe that Malaysia are still traumatise following their loss to us in Jakarta and after the defeat in the group stage, they were in an even more difficult shape mentally,“ said Indonesian captain Vennard Hutabarat.

“The score in the first half was close but when we nailed the second goal early in the second half, the Malaysians just could not defend mentally and that gave us the advantage.”

Both teams started the tie on a cautious note with Indonesia allowing the Malaysians the chance to go forward as they just defended in numbers to look for areas where they can capitalise on.

The Malaysians still recovering from their humiliating 6-0 loss to Indonesia in the preliminary round played a lot more tighter as a unit and although Safar Mohamad did try to get the best of keeper Yos Adi Wicaksono but to no avail.

They came close in the seventh minute when off a quick counter-attack, Addie Azwan Zainal ran the line for a pass to Safar, whose shot came off the upright instead.

That failure to score pushed Indonesia to be more brazen and just a minute later they scored the lead.

The wily Jaelani Ladjanibi was in the thick of the action as he picked up the pass from Ali Haidar to score past Malaysian custodian S. Devandran.

Buoyed by the lead, Indonesia went in stronger into the second half and just three minutes in, captain Vennard blasted in a free kick to put them 2-0 ahead.

The Malaysians tried hard to get back into the game and despite introducing the skilful Addie Azwan Zainal into the mix, they just could not get a clear chance to score.

In the 35th minute, they fell further behind when Deny Handoyo broke through and the ensuing power play for Malaysia spelled the end.

Two quick goals in the 36th and 37th minute respectively from Socrates Matulessy and Ali Haidar made sure that the title was Indonesia’s.

“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.

“We just could not convert the chances we had. And I have to admit that Indonesia were the better side today and the score line speaks for itself,“ said Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, the team manager for Malaysia.

“We seriously have to look at a foreign coach if we want to go to the next level. And also our domestic league have to be stronger and longer than it is now. Playing for just three months is not enough.”

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 5 MALAYSIA 0

FINAL ROUND-ROBIN STANDINGS

1. INDONESIA 12pts (+14)

2. MALAYSIA 9pts (-4)

3. VIETNAM 6pts (+12)

4. PHILIPPINES 3pts (-7)

5. MYANMAR 0pt (-15)