THAILAND-INDONESIA FINAL IN AFF FUTSAL

In the first semi-final earlier, Indonesian captain Sayan Karmadi led Indonesia to an 8-1 beating of Brunei to make their second appearance in the annual Futsal tournament in three years.

Defending champions Thailand, who had lost their last group match against Indonesia, were the better side in the first half with their slick passing and better ball control whereas Malaysia relied more on quick counter-attack to go forward.

But in spite of the several chances created in front of the several hundred fans, neither teams could make a difference to the scoreline as both teams remained scoreless at the break.

Thailand stepped up a gear in the second half to score four goals off Nattawut Kongnimit in the 31st minute, Suphahut Thueanklang (36th), Nattavut Madyalan (38th) and Kritsada Wongkaeo (39th).

“It was a good competitive match but we are looking to play against Indonesia again (Thailand had lost to Indonesia in the group match),” added Kraiserm Tohtubtiang, the team manager for Thailand, who is being represented by their national Under-21 squad.

Brunei, who had created a stir yesterday when they beat Laos to win their first semi-final appearance in eight years, were full of gusto at the start of the game.

However, it soon dawned that Indonesia were just a tad more experienced when they easily took the early lead in the third minute when Sayan blasted in a stiff grounder.

The Indonesians then switched to power play for them to take a comfortable 4-0 lead at the break with goals from Afif Tamimy in the 14th minute, Sayan (18th) and Topas Pamungkas (19th).

In the second half, Indonesia continued very much in the same vein as they scored almost at will from Afif (25th minute), Deny Handoyo (29th and 32nd minute) and then Topas (38th).

Brunei scored their only goal in the game from Muhammad Hardyman Lamit in the 29th minute.

“We did not underestimate our opponents but we were a bit more relaxed and composed for this match. Now we look forward to the final tomorrow,” added Justinus Lhaksana, the head coach for Indonesia.

AFF FUTSAL LEAGUE 2008 RESULTS and FIXTURES

27 AUGUST
MALAYSIA 4 LAOS 2
INDONESIA 4 MYANMAR 2
VIETNAM 5 BRUNEI 4
THAILAND 5 PHILIPPINES 4

28 AUGUST
LAOS 5 VIETNAM 2
PHILIPPINES 0 INDONESIA 7
BRUNEI 1 MALAYSIA 7
MYANMAR 2 THAILAND 7

29 AUGUST
VIETNAM 2 MALAYSIA 3
MYANMAR 6 PHILIPPINES 2
THAILAND 1 INDONESIA 3
BRUNEI 6 LAOS 1

30 AUGUST
INDONESIA 8 BRUNEI 1
MALAYSIA 0 THAILAND 4

31 AUGUST
Brunei vs Malaysia (1400hrs)
Indonesia vs Thailand (1630hrs)

PIC: Indonesia (in red/white kit) against Brunei (in blue kit)