Mes Sungun clinched its first AFC Futsal Club Championship title with a 4-2 win over Vietnam’s Thai Son Nam in the final on Sunday in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
The Iranian club held the majority of possession against its rival in highly charged opening minutes in front of a packed crowd at the Gor Uny Sports Complex, the AFC reported.
The Iran team was quick off the blocks and tested Thai Son Nam goalkeeper Ho Van Y in the third minute after Hossein Tayebi tried his luck at goal with a sharp turn at the top of the arc.
The Vietnam club tried to get its passing game going but found it hard against the tough Iranians who were quick to close in on the attacks.
However, Pham Duc Hoa broke free from his own half and his surging run on the right opened up Mes Sungun, with Pham pouncing on the opportunity to find the net from the top of the box in the fifth minute to put Thai Son Nam in the lead.
It was not long before Mes Sungun equalized, with Tayebi scoring with a cheeky back heel in the 10th minute following Saeed Taqidzadeh’s pass.
Iranians picked up the pace and captain Farhad Fakhim put his side in front when he scored off a corner in the 12th minute.
However, Thai Son Nam found its way back into the game in the 18th minute when Tran Van Vu’s effort from the top of the arc took a deflection and into the goalmouth.
Caught Off Guard
In the second half, Mes Sungun maintained its intensity and caught the opponents off guard to take the lead in the 23rd minute when Fakhim unleashed a powerful shot from the top of the arc.
Boosted by the goal, Mes Sungun moved effortlessly around the court and came close to scoring again in the 31st minute when Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh’s shot from inside the box hit the crossbar.
With six minutes left, Thai Son Nam activated the power play with Nguyen Thanh Tin coming in for a five-pronged attack but they could not break Mes Sungun’s defense.
Hassanzadeh then wrapped proceedings up for Mes Sungun when he scored a penalty in the 39th minute.
In the third place playoff match Lebanon’s Bank of Beirut overcame an early setback to beat Iraqi Nafit Al-Wasat 5-3 and clinch third place in the AFC Futsal Club Championship on Sunday. At the end of the competitions Iranian player of Bank of Beirut Mahdi Javid was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament as well as the top goalscorer with 9 goals.
In the last edition of the games Giti Pasand of Iran finished runner up. Iranian teams had no place among top three in 2017 edition of the games but Tasisat Daryaei of Iran finished first in the 2015 championship.
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