Qantas Futsalroos through to semi-finals
The Qantas Futsalroos are through to the semi-finals of the AFC Futsal Championship ASEAN Zone qualifiers after topping their group with a 4-1 victory over Indonesia in Jakarta this evening.
The Qantas Futsalroos are through to the semi-finals of the AFC Futsal Championship ASEAN Zone qualifiers after topping their group with a 4-1 victory over Indonesia in Jakarta this evening.
Toby Seeto opened the scoring for the Qantas Futsalroos in the fifth minute with a stinging left foot shot from 15m out which cannoned into the top corner of the goal. Indonesia equalised four minutes later, against the run of play, following a turn over by the Qantas Futsalroos in their attacking third. Near the quarter hour mark, Daniel Fogarty was fouled and earned a free kick for the Qantas Futsalroos. Captain Simon Keith hit the resulting dead ball shot into an Indonesian defender but was able to follow up the rebound to slot home to restore his teams lead.
The second half saw the Qantas Futsalroos extend their lead when Pat Ross-Magee beat two defenders and then found Dean Lockhart out wide on the right. Lockhart crossed to Fernando de Moraes at the far post who made no mistake from very close range.
Indonesia played with a fifth man (field player as goalkeeper) for the last four minutes of the match in a bid to reduce the deficit. During this time, Greg Giovenali took advantage of the situation by dispossessing Indonesia-s last man and then dribbled the ball into an empty net to complete the scoring for the Qantas Futsalroos.
Qantas Futsalroos Head Coach Steven Knight was very happy that his team were able to advance to the semi-finals stage by defeating the host nation.
“Although we missed a number of opportunities early on, the boys continued to create chances and maintain the pressure on Indonesia throughout the match,” said Knight
“In truth we had a lapse which gave them their goal, but the players worked very hard to take the lead back and then go on with the job.
“At half time I was reasonably confident that we could hold on and get the points which we eventually did.
“Over the past week, the boys have responded well to our style of play with the most positive aspect being that we are injury free and have all players available for the remaining matches.
“If we get a result against Vietnam we achieve our goal of qualification and that is what we will focus on now,” concluded Knight.
The Qantas Futsalroos will face Vietnam in their semi-finals match of the AFC Futsal Championship ASEAN Zone qualifiers on Wednesday 24 February, whilst Malaysia will meet Indonesia in the other semi-final.
AFC Futsal Championship ASEAN Zone qualifiers take place from 20-25 February in Jakarta with the top three teams qualifying for the AFC Futsal Championships which will be played in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from 23-30 May.
Qantas Futsalroos Squad AFC Futsal Championship ASEAN Zone qualifiers Tournament schedule 20-25 February 2010
Joshua Codrington (Dural Warriors, NSW), Roger Cua (Mascot Vipers, NSW), Fernando De Moraes (North Melbourne FC, VIC), Miles Downie (Sporting Club Vila Verde, Portugal), Daniel Fogarty (NSW Thunder, NSW), Rhys Giovenali (Dural Warriors, NSW), Greg Giovenali (Salaria Sporting Village, Italy), Simon Keith (Maccabi Futsal, NSW), Angelo Konstantinou (Boomerangs FS, ACT), Dean Lockhart (Campbelltown City Quake, NSW), Pat Ross-Magee (Boomerangs FS, ACT), Tom Rogic (ANU, ACT), Tobias Seeto (Lanzarote Tias Yaiza, Spain), Adrian Vizzari (Inner West Allstars, NSW).
Team Officials Head Coach - Steven Knight (NSW) Assistant Coach - Robert Varela (NSW) Goalkeeper Coach - Roger Cua (ACT) Physiotherapist - Michael Sette (VIC) Team Manager - Matt Sheppard (FFA)