Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangkok: The ASEAN Zone qualifiers for the AFC Futsal Championship 2016 kicked-off on Thursday with Timor Leste and Malaysia opening their campaigns with defeats of Singapore (6-3) and Brunei (9-1) while Myanmar and Vietnam both racked up double-digit victories in their respective Group B wins over the Philippines (13-0) and Laos (13-1).
With hosts Thailand not in action until Friday, the opening match of the qualifiers - which doubles as the 2015 AFF (ASEAN Futsal Federation) Championship - featured Vietnam against Laos and the two-time runners-up laid down an early marker at the Bangkok Arena with an emphatic 13-1 triumph.
The Vietnamese were 8-1 up at the half-time break with Le Quoc Nam (3rd), Mai Thanh Dat (8th), Tran Long Vu (9th), Phung Trong Luang (9th), Nguyen Minh Tri (11th), Nguyen Bao Quan (11th), Ngo Noc Son (14th) and Danh Phat (19th) all on target in the first period, with Oley Bousa Ath scoring for Laos in the 7th minute.
There was to be no respite for Laos after the interval with Tran Van Vu (23rd) and Duong Anh Tung (38th) adding their names to the scoresheet and Thanh Dat (32nd), Trong Luang (35th) and Long Vu (38th) scoring their second for Vietnam, who had goalkeeper Nguyen Van Huy sent off in the 29th minute.
Oley Bousa Ath’s early goal transpired to be more than a mere consolation for Laos as it ensured they avoided ending Match Day 1 at the bottom of the Group B standings as the Philippines were unable to find the net as they also conceded 13 times in their opening match against Myanmar.
Naing Ye Kyaw led the scoring with a hat-trick (11th, 22nd, 25th) while team-mates Kyaw Soe Moe (10th, 12th) and The Myat Naing (13th, 30th) both weighed in with doubles. Also on the scoresheet were Nyein Min Soe (3rd), Pyae Phyo Maung (17th), Aung Zin Oo (18th), Pyae Phyo Maung (33rd), Ye Yint Oo (36th) and Khin Zaw Lin (37th) as Myanmar ended day one of the ASEAN Zone Qualifiers top of Group B on goal difference.
Meanwhile in Group A, Singapore’s return to the AFF Futsal Championship for the first time since finishing runners-up to Thailand in the inaugural tournament back in 2001 ended in disappointment as the Lions went down 6-3 to Timor Leste, with Manuel Sa Sarmento going to the top of the scoring charts thanks to his four-goal haul (8th, 23rd, 24th, 28th).
Machel Antonio Fernandes Alves Carvalho (31st) and Jose Lopes (39th) where also on target for the Timorese while Amir Zalani’s first-half double (2nd, 18th) and a Mohamad Helmi strike two minutes into the second period had given Singapore hope of a more positive result.
Sarmento was subsequently joined as the leading scorer of the qualifiers after the first round of matches by Ahmad Fawzul, who also found the net four times (1st, 12th, 25th, 25th) as Malaysia romped to a 9-1 win over Brunei.
Fawzul opened the scoring with a little over 30 seconds gone before a Yamin bin Haji Muhammad own goal doubled Malaysia’s lead five minutes later. Faizal Jefry Zaini pulled one back in the ninth minute but Malaysia soon reasserted their dominance as an 11th minute Muhammad Fitri Yatim effort and Fawzul’s second less than 60 seconds later had Brunei trailing 4-1 at the interval.
Malaysia added five more in the second period with Fawzul taking his individual tally to four with two more goals in the 25th minute before Aizad Danial (26th), Akmarulnizam bin Mohd Idris (28th pen) and Saiful Nizam Mohamad Ali (30th) also found the target for Group A’s early leaders.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for next year’s tournament and will meet in the crossover semi-finals on October 14 with the winners advancing to the final of the 2015 AFF Futsal Championship two days later.
Four teams confirmed their places at next year’s AFC Futsal Championship after Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, and Iraq advanced from the West Zone qualifiers to join champions Japan, Iran, and Uzbekistan - the top three sides at the 2014 AFC Futsal Championship and Kuwait, who finished fourth in Vietnam last year but qualified on account of hosts Uzbekistan receiving automatic qualification.