Ho Chi Minh City: The genius of Japanese import Rafael Henmi and an excellent defensive display saw Al Dhafrah secure a resounding 4-1 victory over Australia’s Vic Vipers in their AFC Futsal Club Championship Vietnam Group A opener on Thursday.
Despite competing in their first-ever continental competition, the United Arab Emirates side showed they were no pushovers, taking the lead after just two minutes. Japanese international Henmi converted from a free-kick which he won, blasting the ball past the Vic Vipers wall and through the legs of custodian Christos Apostolakis.
The Australian side found it hard to keep pace with their West Asian opponents and were restricted to several futile efforts from distance as Al Dhafrah continued to dominate the opening minutes, with Helmi proving to be a thorn in the Vic Vipers’ defence.
After finally finding their footing midway through the first half, Vic Vipers came close to the equaliser with Adam Cooper narrowly missing from a long-range effort in the 11th minute. The Australians came close again from the resulting corner but Jason Barrientos’ effort was palmed away by Hassan Ali Alhantoobi.
Vic Vipers finally drew level six minutes before the break after some industrious work by Javier Torres from the right to find Shayan Alinejad, who back-heeled cheekily beyond Alhantoobi.
The lead would only last three minutes though, with Helmi again providing the lethal finish. A contender for the goal for the first match day in Ho Chi Minh City, Helmi waltzed his way beyond Cooper, before drilling an unstoppable shot through the middle to regain the lead for his side just before the break.
The restart saw the same tempo, as Al Dhafra Head Coach Rui Daniel Guimaraes seemed to have demanded more purpose as his side were relentless in their search for the third goal.
It simply had to come and Al Dhafra secured their two-goal cushion, courtesy of a pulsating thunderbolt by Brazilian Williams Oliveira Do Nascimento from the right.
The Japanese–Brazilian combo of Williams and Hemni then paired beautifully to add to Al Dhafra’s tally, with the former side-stepping Apostolakis to put the match beyond Vic Vipers’ reach.
Al Dhafrah could seal their quarter-final berth when they take on Kyrgyz Republic’s FC Erem in their next match on Saturday. Vic Vipers, meanwhile, face the daunting task of taking on home favourites Thai Son Nam on the same day.
Rui Daniel Guimaraes (Al Dhafra Head Coach)
“Honestly, I feel we played a very good game, and I am happy with my players. The three teams, apart from Thai Son Nam who are the favourites, are evenly matched so three points today was very important for us. Kyrgyz Republic futsal is very different from Australia, so we will need to prepare for the next match and of course, we will play a different game.”
Miltiadis Sakkos (Vic Vipers Head Coach)
“We played well in the first half but obviously as the game went on, particularly in the last 10 minutes, perhaps fatigue was setting in for some of our players. We know from last year, goal difference is extremely crucial in this competition so we need to bounce back from this. Thai Son Nam are more nimble going forward and will present a completely different challenge but I am confident we will be up to it.”
Photos: AFC
Source: the-afc.com