Courtesy: footballaustralia.com.au

The Futsalroos are through to the AFF Futsal Championship Final after dominating Malaysia 6-2 in their semi-final on Wednesday night.

The Aussies were rampant from the outset, with Adam Cooper and Daniel Fogarty both netting a brace, in front of over 8,000 spectators at the Bangkok Arena.

The Futsalroos will now face hosts Thailand in Friday’s decider, in what is a repeat of last year’s final.

Although without suspended skipper Gregory Giovenali and Glen Kelshaw the Futsalroos proved to be formidable opposition, controlling possession and creating several early chances.

Nathan Niski opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a cracking strike before Daniel Fogarty netted two goals in quick succession to give his side a three goal advantage.

Australia could have been further in front at the interval if not for some good work from Malaysia's goalkeeper Mohd Firdaus Razali.

The Malaysians were first to score in the second stanza with Muhammad Akmal Yazadih Amri applying a neat finish in the first minute after the break to ignite hopes of a comeback.

However Cooper added two goals for the Aussies in the 28th and 32nd minutes to snuff out the opposition's resistance, with Fogarty notching his second close to full-time.

Malaysia scored the final goal of the night but it proved merely a consolation, leaving Futsalroos coach Robert Varela proud of his side's clinical performance.

“With two players suspended, obviously we had to change things around,” said Varela after the match.

“It is good to be in the final again and we are looking forward to playing against hosts Thailand. It will be a good experience for the boys whatever the outcome.”

Defending champions Thailand earlier qualified for Friday night's final with a resounding 6-0 win over Vietnam.
The clash kicks-off in the capital at 7pm local (11pm AEDT), with organisers expecting a capacity 12,000 fans for the tournament’s showpiece.




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