BANGKOK (22 Feb 2012) –There were no surprises on the first match day of the ASEAN zone qualifiers of the AFC Futsal Championship 2012 with all tournament favourites walking away easy winners in the four matches that were played at the Krunthep Thonburi Indoor Stadium yesterday.
Australia were the big winners when they thumped Cambodia 15-0 as hosts Thailand outplayed Myanmar 14-0. The third biggest winner on the day were Indonesia, who totally outclassed the Philippines 13-0 while Vietnam scored a 4-0 win over Malaysia.
Playing in Group B, Shervin Keshvaraz began the rout for the Australians when he opened the scoring in the third minute before going on to add four more goals to his personal tally with strikes in the 28th, 36th, 39th and 40th minute.
Danny Ngaluafe blasted in a hat-trick (27th, 30th and 38th) and doubles were scored by Jarrod Basger (6th and 23rd) and Greg Giovenali (17th and 23rd) while three others Chris Zeballos (19th), Andres Gomez (24th) and George Cattanach (39th) got their names on the score sheet.
In the meantime, Vietnam made sure of their desire to win one of the two available spots from Group B when they outplayed Malaysia 4-0 – with all the goals coming in the second half.
Liu Quynh Toan broke the deadlock on 32 minutes before Malaysia conceded two penalties in a two-minute spell, with Nguyen Trong Thien scoring in the 36th and 38th minute. Goalkeeper Dang Pjuoc Anh then sealed the 4-0 win with one minute of the match left to play.
In Group A, hosts Thailand went to the top of the group after trouncing Myanmar 13-0.
Suphawat Thueanklang was on target in the 9th, 25th, 30th and 36th minute as skipper Kritsada Wongkaeo netted a hat-trick (9th, 17th and 26th minute). Braces off Keattiyot Chalaemkhet (3rd and 29th), Nattavut Madyalan (8th and 33rd) and Jirawat Sornwichian (17th and 37th) ensured the full points for the Thais.
Indonesia on the other hand saw Bambang Bayu Saptaji scoring a three-minute hat-trick for them to storm to a 12-0 victory over the Philippines.
Having already opened his account in the 28th minute, the 19-year-old scored three more times (37th, 39th and 40th) to emerge from the one-sided contest as Indonesia’s leading scorer with one more than Julinur Hafid, who also bagged a treble with strikes in the 12th, 24th and 34th minutes.
The other scorers for Indonesia were Caisar Oktavianus Silitonga (6th), Randhyas (10th), Gustian Sukima Wardhana (17th), skipper Denny Handoyo (26th) and Afif Tamimy (31st).
The second match day of the ASEAN zone is being played out today.
CURRENT STANDINGS – ASEAN ZONE
GROUP A
| Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| THAILAND | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 3 |
| INDONESIA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| PHILIPPINES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | -12 | 0 |
| MYANMAR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | -13 | 0 |
GROUP B
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts |
| AUSTRALIA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 3 |
| VIETNAM | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| MALAYSIA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 |
| CAMBODIA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | -15 | 0 |
