Courtesy: UEFA


Russia made to work for victory

Monday, 14 February 2005

By Greg Demetriou at the CEZ Arena


Russia 5-3 Netherlands
Russia needed all their resilience to see off the threat of the Netherlands in their opening 2005 UEFA European Futsal Championship match.

Example set

Captain Mikhail Markin led from the front, scoring his side's first and fourth goals against an enthusiastic Dutch side, who gave a great account of themselves on their return to the finals for the first time since 2001. The sides also met in that edition of the competition, with Russia running out 4-0 winners on that occasion but there was to be no repeat.

Opening goals

Russia grew in confidence as the first half wore on and they broke the deadlock with two strikes within seconds. First Markin played a one-two with Sergei Malychev before blasting goalwards. Patrick Thomassen did well to get a hand on the shot but could not stop it crossing the line. Moments later, Damir Khamadiyev tried his luck from the left wing and it deflected of Dutch No3 Dick Hulshorst and beyond the despairing Thomassen.

Gap reduced

The Dutch pulled one back barely four minutes into the second half. A counterattack saw the imposing Joey Ngarigota surge clear before feeding Samir Makhoukhi. He then weighted a perfect pass for the 21-year-old Hulshorst to score past Sergei Zouev. The goal was a perfect illustration of the Dutch team's emphasis on team play and quick movement.

Superb run

The Russians did not lie down though and Aleksandr Foukine nearly extended their lead with a splendid solo run that saw him turn in the tightest of corners, skip past two defenders and then shoot just wide. It was a move that earned applause from all present and showed the skill within the Russian ranks.

Confidence up

The Dutch were increasing in confidence and the equaliser came when Calvin Blankendal supplied a perfect pass for Antoine Merlino. The No2 kept his cool to stab the ball under the body of Zouev with exactly five minutes remaining.

Goals galore

However, Russia were not finished and Vladislav Shayakmetov fired in from a corner with just over two minutes remaining. The Dutch rearguard were then caught asleep when Markin was able to score his side's fourth, and his second, moments after the restart. The Dutch were not finished, however, and Merlino cut the deficit to just one while acting as the replacement goalkeeper before Shayakmetov had the last word, making it 5-3 with 12 seconds left.

Starting fives

Russia: Sergei Zouev, Mikhail Markin, Sergei Malychev, Damir Khamadiyev and Sergei Ivanov.
Netherlands: Patrick Thomassen, Antoine Merlino, Cornelis Thies and Maximiliaan Tjaden.