Courtesy: UEFA

Litija recovery stuns Arzignano

Friday, 8 October 2004

Slovenia's KMN Litija made it through the UEFA Futsal Cup first qualifying round at the fourth attempt as a dramatic second-day victory against Arzignano Grifo C/5 ultimately took them through on head-to-head record as Group 7 winners.

Arzignano's flying start

No Italian side had ever failed to make it through this stage, and Arzignano seemed to be on their way when they defeated Latvia's FK Bugroff 10-3 on the opening day at Baku's Palace of Sport. Arzignano were 5-0 up at half-time, and by the end Brazilian pair Sandro Teixeira Falcetta and Vander Carioca each had four goals to their credit. Their compatriots Rodrigo De Petta Taverna and Marcio Roberto Brancher also scored, while Bugroff's goals came from Ilmars Rancans, Vladimirs Bogdanovs and Dainis Kovals.

Simic winner

Litija, who competed as KMN Svea Lesna Litija in the previous three editions, needed a last-gasp Dejan Simic goal to beat group hosts MFK Turan Air Baku 4-3. Slaviša Goranovic gave Litija an early lead and Saso Leban scored twice to make it 3-0 on 12 minutes, but Antony Lima Menezes swiftly pulled one back and Vitaliy Borisov claimed two goals in the 24th minute to put Baku level until the very last seconds.

Draw encounter

Baku did get a point in their next game as Diogenes Leandro Da Silva Pires equalised two minutes from the end to make it 4-4 against Bugroff, moments after Vladislavs Djomins had put the Latvian side ahead in a game where both sides led on two occasions. Even more twists were to follow when Litija and Arzignano met, each side knowing victory would confirm their passage with a match to spare.

Litija joy

Tomi Horvat scored on six and seven minutes to give Litija the early advantage, but by the break, after Litija's Primoz Zorc had been given a red card, Adriano Foglia, De Petta Taverna and Foglia again had struck to leave Arizagnano up at the break. Teixeira Falcetta then claimed two goals in the first six minutes of the second half to put Arizagnano in seeming full control at 5-2, but Leban pulled one back within seconds and 18-year-old Igor Osredkar gave Litija hope with nine minutes left. Horvat completed his hat-trick two minutes later to equalise, and before long Osredkar made it 6-5 to Litija, a lead they held until the end.

Victories in vain

First place secure, Litija suffered a final-game setback as they lost 3-2 to Bugroff, Jury Idionov scoring a 38th-minute winner. Arzignano then gained a 6-0 victory against Baku, but with head-to-head record deciding the group, Litija were through to meet holders Boomerang Interviú FS, two-time runners-up Action 21 Charleroi and the eventual Group 3 winners in the second qualifying round in March.