THAIS ON FIRE, AUSSIES SCRAPE THROUGH DEBUT

Led by hattrick heroes Panuwat Janta and Anucha Munjaren, the Thais simply overwhelmed their opponents with their tremendous fire power. Despite giving their best, Vietnam were unable to put the brakes on the skillful Thais.

The hosts got their act on the road in the third minute but Panuwat’s strike was cancelled out by Nguyen Bao Quan a minute later. Panuwat was on target again in the fifth and from then on, it was Thailand all the way. They added four more goals before Vietnam managed their second.

Apart from Panuwat (3rd, 5th, 14th) and Anucha (17th, 29th, 35th), both of whom were key players in the last year’s winning team, the other Thai scorers today were Sermpun Khumthinkaew (10th, 30th), Nattapol Suttiroj (13th), Prasert Innui (26th), Panomkorn Saisorn (31st) and Kiatiyot Chalermkhet (38th, 39th).

In another Group B match, Myanmar defeated Brunei 10-3 to move into second spot in the group. Maung Maung Htay, Soe Min Oo and Aung Moe netted a brace each to lead their team to a glorious opening victory.

Myanmar scored their other goals through Kyaw Zin Nyunt, Tin Min Tun, Tun Lin Aung and Nyunt Win.

Meanwhile, Australia, playing in their maiden Asean Futsal Championship since crossing over to the Asian Football Confederation, scraped past a determined Malaysian side today.

The Aussies started their Group A tie on a strong note, scoring after only seven minutes through Miles Downie. Scott Dingwall doubled it in the 13th minute before K. Thayalan pulled one back six minutes later.

With time running out, the Malaysians managed to haul themselves back into contention in the 34th minute thanks to a fine equalizer from Mohd Fadhil Yusoff. Adrian Vizzari turned hero for the team from Down Under when he struck the winner in the 38th minute.

In the other Group A tie, Jaelani Ladjanibi netted the solitary goal of the match to lead Indonesia to a slim 1-0 win over Philippines today.

RESULTS

Group A

INDONESIA 1
Jaelani Ladjanibi (32)
PHILIPPINES 0

MALAYSIA 2
K. Thayalan (19)
Mohd Fadhil Yusoff (34)
AUSTRALIA 3
Miles Downie (7)
Scott Dingwall (13)
Adrian Vizzari (38)

Group B

VIETNAM 3
Nguyen Bao Quan (4, 22)
Huynh Ba Tuan (40)
THAILAND 13
Panuwat Janta (3, 5, 14)
Sermpun Khumthinkaew (10, 30)
Nattapol Suttiroj (13)
Anucha Munjaren (17, 29, 35)
Prasert Innui (26)
Panomkorn Saisorn (31)
Kiatiyot Chalermkhet (38, 39)

MYANMAR 10
Maung Maung Htay (1, 35)
Soe Min Oo (9, 21)
Kyaw Zin Nyunt (10)
Aung Moe (11, 13)
Tin Min Tun (18)
Tun Lin Aung (23)
NyuntWin (36)
BRUNEI 3
Surmadi Mohd Taib (2)
Budiman Jumat (29)
Mohd Helmi Zambin (31)

CAPTION: Panuwat Janta, the Thai skipper