VIETNAM WHITEWASH PHILIPPINES; INDONESIA PICK UP FIRST WIN

Vietnam, who had scored a thumping 8-1 win over Myanmar the previous day, followed it up with another convincing performance to take a two-goal lead at the half.

“There was a little improvement and definitely, it is much better than what they showed in the first game. But I think that maybe it is a little too hot today,“ said Vietnam head coach Sergio Gargelli.

The Philippines, who had conceded a loss to the Malaysians in the first game of the tournament yesterday, were a lot more composed this time round as they restricted Vietnam offensive play at the start.

In fact, it was the Philippines who had the first real look at goal when the mercurial Misagh Bahadoran drove through the Vietnam defence for a shot which came off the upright.

Rattled, Vietnam upped the tempo and while they could not get past Philippines keeper Hamidreza Geshnizjani with their earlier attempts, they finally found the space to score from a set piece off Nguyen Bao Quan.

The Philippines tried as hard as they could to find the equaliser and a way back into the game but they just could not break down the Vietnam defence.

And just two minutes to the breather, they fell further behind when
Nguyen Quoc Bao had a double take with his attempt to beat Hamid for the second time in the afternoon.

The second half was all Vietnam as they shore up their defence before scoring two further goals from Huynh Ba Tuan in the 22nd minute and then Bao Quan completing his double with the second goal a minute later.

“I’m not too happy with some of the decisions of the referee. If they had not made some mistakes against us, we could have turned the game around,” added Philippines head coach Ismaeil Sedigh.

In the meantime, Indonesia were all over Myanmar like a rash as they raced to a 2-0 lead at the break before scoring the remainder of their goals in the second half for the well-deserved victory.

“I’m a little confused about what to say actually. We scored some easy goals and that in turn made some of the players all eager to score and that left us vulnerable at the back,” said Robby Hartono, the head coach for Indonesia.

Indonesia, who made the final of the AFC Futsal Championship last month in Jakarta, were again in their mettle as they slammed their first goal of the tie through Hairul Ohorella in the fourth minute.

Myanmar tried to push forward but they fell further behind when Socrates Matulessy nailed the second goal for Indonesia barely seven minutes later.

Indonesia then doubled their lead going into the second half through Hairul in the 21st minute as Deny Handoyo then added the fourth goal on 25 minute.

But Myanmar did not give up and they punished Indonesia for a defensive error with their first goal of the game off Aung Thu in the 29th minute.

Several seconds later, Indonesia then replied through captain Vennard Hutabarat as Angga Saputra’s goal gave them a comfortable 6-1 lead.

Myanmar then struck a double off Aye Min Win as Indonesia’s Hairul completed his hat-trick with the third goal in the 35th minute to see the score at 7-2.

And even though Han Naing Soe managed to score another goal for Myanmar in the 38th minute, it was a tad too late as the score remained to the end.

“We were caught napping in the first half but we came back quite strongly after the break. We are improving from game to game and that is good,” added Myanmar team manager Yei Htut Tin.

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 vs. Malaysia (1400)/ Philippines vs. Myanmar (1600)

8 April 2010: Malaysia vs. Myanmar (1400)/ Vietnam vs. Indonesia (1600)

9 April 2010: Philippines vs. Indonesia (1400)/ Vietnam vs. Malaysia (1600)

10 April 2010: REST DAY

11 April 2010: Winner vs. Runner-up (1600)