Courtesy:
UEFA.comRecord-breaking Barcelona among winnersFC Barcelona began their title defence in record-breaking style while FC Litija, MFK Dinamo, Murcia FS, Kairat Almaty and KMF Ekonomac Kragujevac also won elite round openers.Wednesday 10 October 2012FC Barcelona began their UEFA Futsal Cup title defence in record-breaking style while FC Litija, MFK Dinamo, Murcia FS, Kairat Almaty and KMF Ekonomac Kragujevac also opened the elite round with wins.
Barcelona lifted the trophy at their first attempt last season and, as one of the seeds given a bye to this stage, were keen to start Group A in Lasko well. And indeed they did, beating MNK Split 18-0, the biggest ever elite round victory. Eleven of the goals came before the break and in the end all ten outfield players registered, including four for Igor, three by Sergio Lozano and one for last term's finals top scorer Wilde, just back from four weeks out injured.
In the same section it seemed former semi-finalists Araz Naxçivan would set up a likely decider against Barcelona tomorrow when they led hosts Litija 3-0 at the interval. But the amateurs from Slovenia produced a remarkable comeback, initiated when Alen Fetic pulled one back on 24 minutes. Gasper Vrhovec struck on the half-hour and with four minutes left Fetic equalised. Finally Damir Pertic exchanged a double pass with Milivoje Simeunovic to put Litija ahead, before Fetic sealed his hat-trick and a 5-3 triumph as he shot into an unguarded net.
The previous authors of the record elite round win (12-0 v Iberia Star Tbilisi three years ago), 2008 runners-up Murcia FS, themselves had to survive an Energy Lviv fightback to open Group C with an 8-3 victory. Staging the group and making their seasonal bow as the pool's top seeds, Murcia were five goals in front late in the first half, including two from Miguelín. But Sergiy Koval reduced the arrears ten seconds before half-time and Denys Ovsyannikov and Maxym Pavlenko made it interesting after the break, before Tiago Carpes netted twice to complete his treble and Franklin removed all doubt.
As expected, this group could go down to Murcia's Sunday encounter with last term's runners-up MFK Dinamo. The Russian champions, who lifted the UEFA Futsal Cup at the Pabellón de Deportes in 2007, returned to the arena to see off FK Nikars Riga 7-2, with Fernandinho on target twice.
Aiming for a fifth semi-final appearance, seeds Kairat Almaty are top of Group B thanks to a dominant 5-1 success against Slov-Matic Bratislava. Kairat stormed into a three-goal lead within 11 minutes as their Slovakian opponents looked to attack, then added second-half strikes from Leo Santana and, in the final minute, Serik Zhamankulov.
Serbian hosts KMF Ekonomac Kragujevac gained an important 4-1 win over experienced FK EP Chrudim, breaking the deadlock after 33 seconds through Jakov Grcic. Chrudim tried a flying goalkeeper early in the second half but Mladen Kocic, Slobodan Janjic and goalkeeper Miodrag Aksentijevic all scored to delight the large and noisy home crowd.
Matches in all three groups continue tomorrow, when Group D also begins in Tbilisi, featuring 2010 winners SL Benfica. The four section winners will progress to the finals in late April.
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UEFA.comBarcelona and Dinamo among well-placed quintetFC Barcelona, FC Litija, Kairat Almaty, Murcia FS and MFK Dinamo all recorded second straight elite round victories, setting up a fascinating batch of winner-takes-all games on Saturday.Thursday 11 October 2012FC Barcelona, FC Litija, Kairat Almaty, Murcia FS and MFK Dinamo all maintained their perfect elite round records and now face an anxious wait to book a place in the UEFA Futsal Cup finals in Saturday's deciders.
Holders Barcelona built on their record-breaking 18-0 victory in Group C by dispatching Araz Naxçivan 7-1 to set up a winner-takes-all showdown with Slovenian amateurs Litija, whose eye-catching 10-1 triumph against MNK Split was shaped by hat-tricks from Alen Fetic and captain Igor Osredkar.
Kairat cemented their position at the Group B summit, edging out FK EP Chrudim 6-5. KMF Ekonomac Kragujevac are two points back in second after coming from behind to salvage a 3-3 draw with Slov-Matic Bratislava. The Serbian hosts have to win their final game against Kairat to advance.
Murcia produced another emphatic performance, cruising to a 6-1 success against FK Nikars Riga in Group C. The Spanish hosts face 2007 winners Dinamo on Saturday for a place in the finals after the Russian champions consigned Energy Lviv to a 5-0 defeat, Fernandinho registering a hat-trick.
Group D began dramatically in Georgia as SL Benfica were held 3-3 by Gyori ETO FC. Leading 3-0 with four minutes remaining, 2010 winners Benfica were stung by quick-fire replies from Juanra and Fábio Aguiar, before Hugo Martins sealed an unlikely point with two seconds left. Hosts Iberia Star Tbilisi, hoping to reach their first finals, prevailed 6-1 against Luparense C/5 thanks in part to Bruno Melo, who plundered a second-half treble inside three minutes.
On Friday, Benfica play Luparense aiming to repeat their 8-4 semi-final win in 2010. Iberia take on Győr, knowing three points would secure qualification if the Portuguese representatives are denied victory.
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UEFA.comBenfica oust Luparense, Gyor hold IberiaAny of three teams could win elite round Group D on Sunday after SL Benfica ended the hopes of former semi-finalists Luparense C/5 and Gyori ETO FC held Iberia Star Tbilisi.Friday 12 October 2012Three teams could win UEFA Futsal Cup elite round Group D on Sunday after the second set of games ended the hopes of former semi-finalists Luparense C/5.
In Thursday's openers, hosts Iberia Star Tbilisi beat Luparense 6-1 and Gyori ETO FC came back from three behind to hold SL Benfica 3-3. Today Benfica twice trailed Luparense before winning 3-2 while similarly Iberia fell behind to Gyor on two occasions but sealed a 2-2 draw.
Luparense made the best possible start after last night's disappointment, going ahead against Benfica on 39 seconds through Ricardo Caputo. Nene levelled in the 12th minute but Benfica – who beat Luparense 8-4 in the 2010 semi-finals on their way to lifting the trophy in Lisbon – saw a Joel Queirós penalty saved by Rodrigo Cavicchio early in the second half.
Giovanni Pedotti restored Luparense's advantage following Humberto Honorio's 29th-minute corner. However, Marinho equalised and with two and a half minutes left, Teka struck Benfica's winner to eliminate Luparense, meaning that there will be no Italian club in the finals for the first time since 2008/09.
Iberia now knew they could not qualify with a game to spare but Gyor were well aware that defeat would end their hopes and Zoltan Droth put them into a 7th-minute lead. Romario equalised within two minutes but it was 2-1 to the Hungarian champions at the break through Garrido Luque. Rafa levelled for Iberia midway through the second half and that was how it ended.
Iberia lead Sunday's opponents Benfica on goal difference with Gyor, who face Luparense, two points behind. A positive result between the top two would take the winners into the finals in April, but a low-scoring draw could allow in Gyor should they defeat Luparnese in the early match.
The other three groups conclude on Saturday and each go to a direct final-day decider. In Group A, Slovenian hosts FC Litija need to defeat holders FC Barcelona; KMF Ekonomac Kragujevac, staging Group B in Serbia, must beat Kairat Almaty while Murcia FS, at home in Group C, will qualify with a draw against 2007 winners MFK Dinamo, who have to gain maximum points.
Posted by
Luca Ranocchiari -->
luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com
