Courtesy: UEFA.com


Cyprus keep nerve against newcomers Ireland

Thursday 19 February 2009

The Republic of Ireland made a respectable start in their first competitive senior international as they lost 2-0 to Cyprus on the opening day of the 2010 UEFA European Futsal Championship preliminary round.

Kazakhstan prevail
Staging Group A in Dublin, Ireland held out until one minute before the break when Kostas Polyviou put Cyprus ahead. They conceded again to Lambros Vassiliou midway through the second half, though the home side also had their chances. In the other encounter, Kazakhstan, who scored 23 goals in winning three games in this round in 2007, needed three without reply after the break to gain a 5-2 victory against an England side who equalised twice in the first half and are still searching for a first-ever competitive point. They will continue that quest against Ireland on Friday when Kazakhstan face Cyprus, a side they defeated in 2007 qualifying and again in the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Latvia in form
Latvia, who only missed out at this stage in 2007 with a loss to eventual final tournament qualifiers Romania, have early control of Group B in Varna after they defeated competition debutants Estonia 5-0. Hosts Bulgaria, who face Estonia on Friday, drew 2-2 with Armenia.

Finland win
In Group D in Ramat Gan, hosts Israel drew 1-1 with Turkey after Avi Kalif's goal early in the second half was cancelled out with three minutes left by Cihan Özkan, while Jarno Mattila scored twice as Finland defeated competition newcomers Montenegro 4-2. Finland could be through on Friday if they go one better than their 5-5 draw with Turkey two years ago and Israel do not beat Montenegro. Greece and Georgia defeated Albania and Group B hosts Malta 3-0 and 3-1 respectively and the top two play on Friday. The four group winners and two best runners-up progress to the qualifying round from 19-22 March; for full draw details click here.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Greece and Georgia relieved with wins

Thursday 19 February 2009

by Domenic Aquilina from Corradino Pavilion

Greece and Georgia set up a Matchday 2 showdown in UEFA Futsal Championship preliminary round Group C after victories on the opening day in Malta.

Greece relief
Excused from competing in this round two years ago, Greece were keen to make a good start against Albania and Oratios Iliadis gave them a half-time lead before doubling the advantage on 29 minutes. Antonios Manos sealed a 3-0 victory. "It was a very difficult match," Greece coach Stefanos Soilemes told uefa.com. "The first match is always difficult and my players wanted time to settle. I am satisfied but we have two more games to win. We always want to win when we take the pitch."

Georgia hold on
In the second match of the day, host nation Malta went down 3-1 to Georgia, but not before giving the winners a scare. Dato Darchia struck for Georgia in the second minute but Malta came back after the break and Darren Agius claimed a deserved equaliser. However, their hopes were dashed by goals from David Bobokhidze and Giorgi Sozashvili.

Striz proud
John Cutajar, who starred for Malta, said: "We put up a really positive performance, and in my view we were beaten by the best team in the group. We showed that there was a substantial improvement over previous performances in recent years." Malta coach Michal Støíž, who led the Czech Republic to bronze in 2003, added: "I think this was Malta's best performance ever in a qualification match. I'm satisfied by the performance of the team, even if in the second half we missed a lot of chances, and the second Georgian goal killed the match."

Asatiani praise
His Georgian counterpart Avantil Asatiani added: "This game was very very difficult, well done to Malta for a really good performance. Malta have improved immensely over the two years since we last met here. Every match is difficult, so we look forward to the next games." His team face Greece on Friday and Malta meet Albania.







Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com