Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangkok: Coach Pedro Costa hailed his players’ hard work after two-time AFC Futsal Club Championship winners Nagoya Oceans booked their place in the final with a comfortable 3-1 win over the United Arab Emirates’ Dibba Al Hissin SCC in the last four on Thursday.
The Japanese side went a goal down early on but responded strongly as strikes from Yoshio Sakai, Ryohei Ando and Tomoki Yoshikawa saw them take a two-goal advantage into the break.
Nagoya were less of an attacking force after the interval but Dibba struggled to break down a resolute backline as Costa’s team confirmed their passage to Saturday's final, where they will meet NAFIT Al-Wasat who beat hosts Chonburi Bluewave in the day's later semi-final.
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“I’m very happy of course because we have reached an important goal,” said Costa, whose team won the competition in 2011 and 2014.
“We aimed to be in the final and we have worked a lot in this tournament – now we can see the fruit of our work. But I’m a realist and I know that today wasn’t our best game, so we have to improve again for the next one.
“We worked hard in training yesterday and we tried to do what we practiced on the pitch, but we didn’t see too many things that we worked on.”
Nagoya began their continental campaign with a 2-2 draw against Australia’s Vic Vipers, before qualifying for the knockout stage by virtue of goal difference despite suffering a 3-1 reversal to Chonburi.
The Japanese side then put in a superb performance to oust defending champions Tasisat Daryaei of Iran on penalties following a thrilling 2-2 draw.
“Dibba has a strong defence and they stayed back,” added Costa. “It was not easy because they are stronger and taller and they make the game very hard.
“But I have to congratulate my players because now we are in the final. I’m very proud to be their coach. At the start of the tournament many people didn’t believe in us, but now how many teams want to be in our place?
“We also have two or three players who are injured and stayed back in Japan. This victory and achievement is for them too.”
Dibba had been the surprise package of the tournament after advancing from Group C as runners-up following back-to-back draws with NAFIT and China’s Dalian Yuan Dynasty.
A resounding 6-2 quarter-final victory over Sanna Khanh Hoa FC of Vietnam continued their remarkable run, before Nagoya finally proved too strong to overcome.
“Against Nagoya I had to play defensively, but after conceding three goals we had to open up,” said Dibba coach Mohamed Al-Marzouqi.
“It’s not easy to play against them because they have a lot of experience and played to win, but my players did a good job.
“We used the power-play in the last five minutes and had chances. Today I don’t want to talk about our mistakes.”
Photo: AFC