Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Malang: Cristian Gonzales struck in stoppage time as Arema Indonesia recovered from letting slip a two-goal first half advantage to edge out Maldivian side Maziya Sports & Recreation 3-2 in the AFC Cup on Tuesday.
Two goals in less than a minute midway through the first half from Gonzales and Gustavo Lopez had put Arema in a commanding position at Kanjurhan Stadium only for Ali Amdhan and Abdulla Ibrahim to hit back for winless Maziya after the hour mark.
But with Gonzales heading home in the first minute of stoppage time, Arema claimed a second win in Group F having beaten Maziya 3-1 last month in Male.
“After claiming a two-goal lead, we should have played calmly and patiently. But Maziya are a good side,” said Arema coach Suharno.
“This is a valuable win to help us towards the next step.”
Arema opened the scoring after 25 minutes as Gonzales gave Maziya goalkeeper Mohamed Imran no chance as the striker met Siswanto Hendro’s cross with a downward header from the edge of the six-yard area.
And the home side doubled their advantage less than a minute later as Lopez unleashed an unstoppable rising strike from 25 yards which rocketed past Imran’s despairing dive and high into the net.
Maziya, though, gave themselves hopes two minutes after the hour mark as Amdhan headed home.
And just three minutes later the visitors completed the comeback as Ibrahim rifled home from a tight angle after Arema had failed to clear the ball out of their penalty area.
But in the first minute of stoppage time, Maziya were themselves unable to clear their lines and it eventually broke for Gonzales who directed his header past Imran.
“Arema played pretty well with the support of their fans,” said Maziya coach Ismail Mahfooz.
“I am not happy this result, but I am happy with how we played.”