MARTHA LEADS INDONESIA INTO AFC U17 FINAL ROUND

Despite trailing Vietnam 1-0 late into the second half of the match which was played at the Stadion Lebak Bulus, Martha inspired Indonesia to stage a miraculous fight back to score four goals within the space of just twelve minutes.

Indonesia created several clear chances in the opening first half but was either denied by the woodwork or the excellent pair of hands of the custodian from Vietnam.

The game moved up a notch after the break and off a quick counter-attack, Vietnam took the surprise lead when Nguyen Dinh Loi capitalised on some poor Indonesian defending to slot the ball home in the 62nd minute.

But in front of more than 4,000 home fans, striker Martha connected with a cross from Fingky Pasamba from the right to score the equaliser in the 79th minute.

Three minutes later, Yericho Cristiantoko was the provider for Martha as the latter took a well-placed shot to give Indonesia the lead for the first time in the game.

Under pressure, Vietnam’s eagerness in going forward saw Martha grabbing his first hat-trick of the competition in the 88th minute before adding his fourth goal of the competition deep in injury time.

“The key to this victory was the patience showed by the players – where they never gave up even though they were frustrated by the several chances that came their way earlier in the game,” said Indonesian head coach Subangkit.

However, the victory for Indonesia came at a price where Yericho has been red-carded in the 89th minute and where he will not be available in the team’s final of game of the qualifiers against Cambodian tomorrow.

FIXTURES AND RESULTS

Oct 24: JAPAN 2 LAOS 0/ VIETNAM 1 CAMBODIA 1

Oct 26: HONG KONG 0 INDONESIA 1/ CAMBODIA 0 JAPAN 7

Oct 28: VIETNAM 0 HONG KONG 0/ INDONESIA 1 LAOS 0

Oct 30: CAMBODIA 1 HONG KONG 1/ JAPAN 2 INDONESIA 1

Nov 1: LAOS 2 VIETNAM 1/ HONG KONG 0 JAPAN 7

Nov 3: INDONESIA 4 VIETNAM 1/ LAOS CAMBODIA

Nov 5: Japan vs Vietnam, Laos vs Hong Kong, Cambodia vs Indonesia

GROUP F STANDINGS

1. JAPAN 12pts

2. INDONESIA 9pts

3. LAOS 6pts

4. VIETNAM 2pts

5. HONG KONG 2pts

6. CAMBODIA 2pts