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wo naturalization strikers Cristian Gonzales and Irfan Bachdim lead the national soccer team to a 5-1 rout of Malaysia during their first match of the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The anticipated match, coming after unease on various issues over the last couple of months between the two countries, made the 88,000 capacity stadium at the capital even warmer. At least 30,000 soccer fans covered the place red, with reportedly about 5,000 fans cheering for Malaysia joining the merriment.

Sportsmanship was not so strong when a spark of boos came from spectator tribunes after the Malaysian team entered the field for a warm-up session. The crowds began cheering when the red-and-white team hit the ground.

Starting the game, Indonesia took advantage of home-crowd support by playing it fast and offensive. The host team made at least three opportunities to net, yet nothing came of it due to poor execution.

Teased by captain Firman Utina’s aggressive playing, the Malaysians tried to alter the oppressive situation by making several chances to score a goal. As a result, Norsahrul Idlan of the Malayan Tiger of Malaysia scored the first goal in the 18th minute.

Lucky for Indonesia when Mohd Asraruddin of the leading team made his own goal at the 21st, evening up the duel.

The good ambiance of the match led striker naturalization Cristian Gonzales to score in the 33th to raise the noise levels to a deafening pitch with 2-1 until the end of the first half.

Seven minutes after the second half started, mid-fielder Muhammad Ridwan and Ahmad Bustomi completed a neat collaboration inside the penalty corner with Ridwan landing a shot that was unstopped by Malaysian goalkeeper Mohamad Sharbinee.

In a festival atmosphere at the national stadium, a bait from the left side of Indonesia’s defense fell at the feet of a Malaysia defender but Arief Suyono quickly grabbed the ball and made Sharbinee pick up the ball from his net in the 76th minute.

Another naturalization player, Irfan Bachdim, completed the rout in the 90th capitalizing inter-cross bait of Okto Maniani from the left side.

With the result, Indonesia is now leading the Group A.

Indonesian team head coach Alfred Riedl said he was happy with his men’s achievement. However, the team must not fall head over heels after Wednesday’s win.

“The Indonesian team played better than the Malaysian. [Indonesia] showed good morale to win the match,” he told a post-match press conference, adding that the 5-1 winning was a bit surprising.

“The win was very sweet. But one win is not enough to make it to the next round. The players must start to prepare soon for the next match against Laos [on Saturday],” said Riedl.

Malaysian coach Rajagopal credited Indonesia’s good performance, saying that eight injured players contributed to his team’s loss.

In another opener match earlier that day, the 2008 AFF Cup’s runner up Thailand was upset by Laos after closing the game with a 2-2 draw. Thailand will face Malaysia in Saturday’s match.