Vietnamese champions Thai Son Nam defeated Dural Warriors AF of Australia 6-2 in the opening Group B match of the ongoing Asian Futsal Club Championship' qualifier in Malaysia.

Inaba Kotaro, Trong Luan and Thanh Dat each scored twice, while on the Australian side Gregory Giovenali and Adam Bradley had one goal each.

"It was an open match and it could have gone either way," Thai Son Nam's Italian coach Sergio Gargelli said.

"We were not in complete control but I believe that the opponents were too young and they looked a bit more fatigued than our players. I used all of my players to maintain the tempo throughout the match.

"But we are still not there. This win is definitely a step forward but anything can happen so we have to remain on our guard."

Thai Son Nam, who were the first runners-up of last year's qualifiers, are the sole representative from Viet Nam and the only Vietnamese team that has participated in this continental tournament.

Their next rival will be Penlindo FC of Indonesia tomorrow. Penlindo lost to Viet Nam 1-2 in their meet at last year's edition in HCM City.

The event, lasting until April 16, has attracted seven teams divided into two groups. The best four teams will go through to the semi-final.

The top three qualifiers will then attend the final round in Japan.-VNS