Source: Baku Utd Press

Baku United won their first English Championship title last season which gave them the right to represent England in the UEFA Futsal Cup 2013/2014. They started at the preliminary round stage. No English club had ever progressed to the next round despite years of trying.

In the preliminary round they would face Ali Demi from Albania and the host team Wisla Krakow from Poland. It was a very tough group with Wisla’s fanatical home support providing them with a significant advantage. Baku started with a 4-1 win against the Albanian champions. The day before Wisla had recorded a 5-0 victory against the same opponents. This meant that Wisla only needed a draw to qualify and knock Baku out of the competition.

The London club got on the score sheet first but there was a quick reply from Wisla. The teams went into the half time a goal apiece. The 2nd half was to be a different story with Baku dominating. They quickly built up a 4-0 lead which led the hosts to respond by utilising the fly goalkeeper. However Baku took advantage of the open net and added another three goals to end the game 7-0 victors. They entered the history books as the first English club to make it to the Main Round and the celebrations went well into the night.

In the Main Round Baku would face Chrudim from Czech Republic, hosts Omonia Nicosia from Cyprus and FC Litija from Slovenia in a group of 4 with 2 teams qualifying for the Elite Round. The first game for the English champions was against the Czechs. The game was very close with the teams never separated by more than one goal and the game ended a 3-3 draw. Baku was up against the hosts next and despite dominating possession the team was unable to find the net. However, eventually the deadlock was broken and Baku recorded a narrow 1-0 victory. Other results meant Baku had to draw or win in the ultimate game against the Slovenians to qualify.

Litija started well with a goal in the 2nd minute. They would score again but this time into their own net to make it 1-1. Baku would then take the lead before half-time. For the end of the first half and whole of the 2nd half Litija employed the fly goalkeeper to try to get back into the game. The strategy was successful with them creating many chances, one of which led to the equaliser. The teams were equal and Baku was heading to the next round until the final few minutes when Litija went ahead. Despite their efforts to get the goal that would see them through they were unable and exited the competition.

Though the team had hopes of reaching the Elite Round they can be satisfied that in their first UEFA Futsal Cup experience they got further than any English team had before. Progress had been made and they showed they can compete with some of the strongest teams in Europe. They will now focus on retaining their English title which will allow them to try to go one step further in Europe next year.





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