JAKARTA – Former Selangor striker Bambang Pamungkas handed Indonesia an impressive 2-1 win over 2004 semi-finalists Bahrain as the surprises continued at the AFC Asian Cup 2007 on Tuesday evening.

Bambung struck in the 62nd minute after Abdulrahman Abdulkarim had pushed Firman Utina’s long-range shot against the post to give Ivan Kolev’s side the perfect start to their Group D campaign.

Budi Sudarsono opened the scoring after 14 minutes for the home side only to see Sayed Mahmoud Jalal pull the Bahrainis level in the 27th minute.

The win means three of the four co-hosts will go into the second round of group matches unbeaten after Thailand held Iraq to a 1-1 draw on the opening day before Vietnam downed the United Arab Emirates 2-0 on Sunday.

The Indonesian fans were in raptures after just 14 minutes when they took the lead following a perfectly played through ball by Firman.

The Persima Tangerang midfielder scooped the ball over the Bahrain defence and Budi evaded the offside trap to leave himself one-on-one with Abdulkarim, who he rounded after controlling the ball on his chest before sliding his shot home.

Budi’s goal caused pandemonium in the stands, sparking flare-waving celebrations on the packed upper tier of the famous old stadium as the home fans dared to dream that they could match the performances of fellow co-hosts.

But, after offering little in the way of a goal-scoring threat throughout the half, the Bahrainis pulled level three minutes before the half hour mark.

Mahmoud Abdulrahman dispossessed Mahyadi Panggabean on the left side of the Indonesian half before playing the ball through to Abdullah Omar and, although his shot was blocked at the near post, Sayed Mahmood Jalal was on hand to slot home the rebound.

Indonesia came close to reclaiming their advantage three minutes before the end of the half, however, when the quick thinking of Elie Aiboy almost punished Bahrain, the Arema Malang midfielder stealing the ball off Fawzi Ayesh before firing off a shot that Abdulkarim parried to safety.

Seventeen minutes after the restart, though, the Indonesians were back in front as Bambang finished off a fine move.

Elie, who tormented the Bahrain defence throughout the game, sped down the left before cutting the ball inside to Budi, who laid the ball off to Firman and he fired off a shot that was pushed onto the post by Abdulkarim.

But as the ball bounced back into the middle of the penalty area, Bambang seared in to finish emphatically.

As the clock ticked down the fans inside the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium cranked up the volume, although Rashed Al Dosari almost spoiled the party 12 minutes from time when his looping effort from inside the penalty area hit the crossbar.

KUALA LUMPUR – Han Peng and Wang Dong netted two goals apiece as China kicked off their AFC Asian Cup 2007 campaign in style with a 5-1 trouncing of Malaysia at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Wednesday.

Shao Jiayi also scored for the 2004 runners-up who over-powered the co-hosts to send out a clear message of intent to Group C rivals Iran and Uzbekistan.

Substitute Indra Putra Mahayuddin grabbed a consolation goal for the Malaysians, who became the first of the four co-hosts to lose a match in the competition following victories for Vietnam and Indonesia against United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, respectively, and a draw for Thailand against Iraq.

China threatened as early as the second minute when Mao Jianqing crossed from the left to Wang whose first-time shot was well saved by Malaysia goalkeeper Azizon Kadir.

Han then missed a glorious chance in the seventh minute when he outjumped two Malaysia defenders to meet Wang’s cross from the right only to put his header wide.

Malaysia enjoyed a brief period of pressure with Akmal Rizal Rakhli narrowly caught offside on a through pass by Fauzie Nan but the Asian Cup 2004 runners-up would take the lead on 15 minutes after a finely worked goal.

A defence-splitting pass by Shao released Wang who took the ball to the right byline before cleverly lofting it to the far post where an unmarked Han headed easily into the back of the net.

The home side nearly found their way back into the game as Hairuddin Omar just failed to meet a Hardi Jaffar corner with his head.

But China turned up the heat as the half progressed and should have gone two goals up on the half-hour mark as Mao turned a Wang cut-back over the crossbar from three yards out.

It would be only a brief reprieve for Norizan Bakar’s side as China notched their second in the 36th minute. Chinese skipper Zheng Zhi was the provider this time with a cross from the left which was narrowly missed by a leaping Han but fell nicely for an unmarked Shao to stab the ball into the unguarded net from six yards out.

As the half came to a close, Akmal turned Zhang Yaokun on the right flank and centred the ball into the danger area where an alert Li Weifeng managed to scramble the ball away before it could fall into the path of Hairuddin.

Hairuddin had the first effort of the second half, heading a corner wide two minute after the break but the Chinese soon regained control when Shao’s left-footed shot from the edge of box was turned out by Azizon for a corner.

China duly extended their advantage on 51 minutes when Wang’s shot from edge of box took a big deflection off Fauzie Nan and rolled agonisingly past Azizon.

Four minutes later, it was 4-0 as Han easily notched his second of the game, tapping in at the far post after Mao’s cross from the left flew over the head of defender Norhafiz Zamani Misbah.

Substitute Indra Putra grabbed a consolation goal for the Malaysians in the 73rd minute, firing a low drive past Li Leilei from 25 metres after a fine lay-off by Hairuddin.

They could have got another shortly afterwards as Hardi fired in a free-kick from the right flank that eluded a crowd of players in the middle and very nearly surprised goalkeeper Li.

But Wang piled further misery on the co-hosts deep into injury time with a towering header that flew over the head of Azizon to complete an emphatic win for the Chinese.