AFC - Iranian champions Sanaye Giti Pasand showed their intent in the tournament after demolishing Vietnamese debutant Thai Son Nam 8-0 in their first match of the AFC Club Futsal Championship on Sunday.
The Vietnamese had some early chances of their own but they could not hold on to the persistent pressures from the Iranian side and tamely unfolded in the second half.
Spanish export Rudimar Venancio, Afshin Kazemi and Iranian international Ahmad Esmaeilpour (pic) scored a brace apiece while Shahram Sharifzadeh and Yousefi Hamidreza grabbed a goal each for the Iranians who will take on Qatar’s Al Rayyan on Monday.
Thai Son Nam had their moments in the first half and early second half but the finishing in the final third let them down.
“I was working on the potential chances the teams had during the match and I can confirm that before going down 4-0, we had our moments in the match the only difference was their cutting edge in front of the goal,” Thai Son Nam Florence born Italian coach Sergio Gargelli told reporters.
Giti Pasand were 2-0 up in the first half thanks to brilliant finishes from Kazemi and Venancio. Thai Son Nam were fighting valiantly till the 29th minute but Esmaeilpour’s strike open the floodgate for the Iranians as they wrecked up five goals in last six minutes.
“After going down 4-0 in the 34th minute, we were already thinking about Monday’s match against hosts Yarmouk SC,” Sergio made honest remark. “But we will bounce back, Vietnamese are famous for their fighting spirit worldwide and I am sure they will show it tomorrow against Yarmouk,” he added.
“It’s not the opponents were bad, they were fast and technically sound, but my boys were in exceptional form,” said Giti Pasand coach Alireza Afzal.
“We need to keep this momentum on as we know Nagoya Oceans failed today but they will definitely come back strong and we have other good teams waiting for their chances as well,” he added.
Monday’s Matches
Ardus vs All Sports
GH Bank vs Nagoya Oceans
Al Rayyan vs Sanaye Giti Pasand
Thai Son Nam vs Yarmouk