| Fadhil Yunus |
BRUNEI Darussalam endured a second consecutive defeat at the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Futsal Championship after losing 9-0 to Indonesia in Group ‘A’ at the Phu Tho Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam yesterday.
Indonesia came into the encounter brimming with confidence having enjoyed goals from all over the pitch with nine different scorers in the 21-0 thrashing against the Philippines.
Indonesia’s first chance in the game came after Brunei Darussalam’s Azizan bin Roslan lost possession of the ball with midfielder Johanis Mustamu seeing his shot deflected off Brunei Darussalam’s goalkeeper Nabil Maidin after being set up by Ardiansyah.
Mustamu was provided another opportunity from a corner but Nabil unorthodoxly kicked the ball away with Indonesia starting over from the back.
Indonesia were employing a 2-1-1 tactic with Johanis portrayed as a wall due to his physical presence and Sounis being utilised as an anchor in the team.
Sauqy Saud played a neat one two with Ardiansyah but the former hit his shot straight at Nabil with the rebound falling into his thigh and out for a goal kick.
Sauqy pulled a nice drive wide into the right post from distance with Indonesia enjoying a host of chances.
Nabil’s intended long pass for a teammate could have been counted as a shot on target as Indonesia’s goalkeeper got hold off the ball.
The Garuda opened the scoring in the third minute after Ardiansyah beat his marker Faiz Hasnan with a nice sidestep before firing a fine effort past Nabil.
Brunei played a long ball with their goalkeeper clearing the ball away while Indonesia were implementing a high pressure game.
The Wasps were awarded a pair of corners with Azizan’s shot blocked by an Indonesian player while earlier Abdul Azim Boll Hassan was unfortunate not to make a firm connection with his header.
Indonesia’s Muhammad Subhan Faidasa had little room to manoeuvre but did well to produce the shot with Nabil being kept alert to clear the ball away to safety.
Brunei were dealt a setback after Nabil was forced out of the pitch due to an injury in the 7th minute with Husin bin Aji being given an early runout.
Indonesia’s Alexander Benhard Larawo hit the post after getting the better of his marker with Husin well beaten.
Brunei’s Maziri bin Maidin found space to make an effort but Indonesia’s goalkeeper Yusuf Kurniawan smothered the ball away and was fortunate that the ball did not fall to an opposing player.
Indonesia’s depth of quality in the squad was in abundance after assembling their third group during the match.
The 2010 winners doubled their lead following a cheeky back-heel finish by Guntur Sulistyo Ariwibowo.
The match became a concern for Indonesia after their national futsal coach Victor Hermans got up from his seat and looked animated issuing instructions on the touchline.
Brunei had their moments too in the first half as Mohammad Arif bin Awang Haji Eisa’s shot was blocked by the imposing figure of Mustamu for a corner.
Indonesia found a third in a carbon copy of the second goal with Mustamu guiding the ball into the roof of the net after Sauqy set up a through pass. Nabil was reintroduced into the game after being treated from injury while on the other end Indonesia’s goalkeeper found to be near the centre circle though Abdul Azim could not take advantage.
It was easy for Sauqy after effortlessly skipping past Brunei’s Fakhri Bangkul in the flanks before shooting the ball past the newly introduced Nabil.
Indonesia had a slow start but their combination play was still good enough as Aditya Muhammad Rasyid threaded a nice pass into the path of Muhammad Subhan but the latter’s shot went astray.
The Garuda completed the scoring in the first half with a fifth through Bambang Bayu Saptaji who drilled an expert finish after latching a pass in the centre in the 15th minute.
The Indonesians continued where they left off in the second half with Abdul Rohman Nawawi producing a screamer leaving the Brunei’s goalkeeper no chance.
Sauqy showed his creative side building up a team move as Brunei was made unaware of the sudden involvement of the relatively quiet Ardiansyah into the picture.
Even though the Black Steel Manokwari’s player did not make sufficient contact with the return pass it had little significance as Sauqy blasted the ball into the empty net.
Bambang had beaten the onrushing Brunei goalkeeper and with an empty net to aim at Yamin bin Haji Muhammad was on the line to clear the ball away.
The Wasps missed the opportunity to score a late consolation after Naqib Timbang drove his effort wide.
Indonesia added an eighth through a simple set piece routine after Mohammad Iqbal Rahmatullah latched on a corner from Bambang in the 36th minute.
Maziri struck a long range effort destined for the top corner but Yusuf pulled of an acrobatic save to deny Brunei a goal.
Indonesia’s Alexander had options but the comfort of keeping the ball gave him confidence to pick a spot and firing the ball past the Brunei goalkeeper in the final minute of play.
The post Brunei suffer second loss in AFF meet appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.