Courtesy UEFA.com

Dinamo check Charleroi celebrations

Saturday, 23 April 2005

By Paul Saffer at the Spiroudôme

Action 21 Charleroi hold a priceless lead after the first leg of the UEFA Futsal Cup final, but second-half goals from Pelé and Konstantin Maevski have given MFK Dinamo Moskva every chance in their home return next Saturday.

Pendulum swings
The home side were easily superior in the first half, and in a dazzling spell lasting little more than a minute, the scoreline went from 0-0 to 3-1, Eder adding a fourth late in the period. But Dinamo redoubled their efforts after the break to set up a titanic tussle in Moscow.

Riding high
Both sides are riding high in their respective domestic title defences, and each coach was able to name a full-strength lineup other than Alexandre Rakhimov's suspension for Dinamo. Charleroi, who ended Boomerang Interviú FS's reign on goal difference after a dramatic 2-2 draw here in the second qualifying round, named their usual Brazilian-flavoured lineup for their third final in this four-year-old competition, while the debutants in this showpiece, Dinamo, had to contend with a noisy 6,500 crowd in the Spiroudôme, a record for the final, whipped up by a pre-game laser show.

Charleroi dominant
Sure enough, Charleroi began brightly with Kelson making his presence felt with a shot wide then a fine pass to Eder, who went close. Lúcio Rosa then forced Stepanov to save from a tight angle as the home team dominated possession in a flowing first few minutes.

Passing moves
Stepanov was called into action again when Kelson darted inside the Dinamo defence and the goalkeeper blocked, and Charleroi's tight passing moves were proving more effective than the visitors' more direct approach. And so it was no surprise when the eleventh minute yielded two goals for the Belgian champions.

Quickfire goals
First the highly-touted and always excellent Robinho sent in a great cross for Andre to volley in. Then seconds later the 22-year-old claimed a goal of his own, a mazy dribble followed by a powerful finish.

Incredible spell
An incredible 60 seconds was not yet over when Cirilo pulled one back for Dinamo with a similar display of skill to Robinho's. But the two-goal lead was almost instantly restored as Charleroi captain Alex turned in a cross from the left.

Lead increases
Andre came close to making it 4-1 with five minutes left in the half, Stepanov in the way after a twisting run. Lúcio Rosa missed from very close range two minutes before half-time, but as Dinamo cleared, Charleroi intercepted and Eder was left with a simple tap-in. By this stage Charleroi had lost Kelson to injury.

Dinamo lifeline
Moments into the second period, Alex somehow failed to beat Stepanov from virtually on the goalline. And Dinamo took advantage of that let-off soon after, Joan's clever pass gaving Pelé a simple finish. Konstantin Maevski, Sirilo and Olexiy Kudlay all then went close as the visitors had their best spell of the game.

Maevski strikes
Alex came close again on 32 minutes, but Dinamo were now dictating play and soon pulled another goal back. Eder Fehrmann saved a Maevski shot, but the Dinamo player converted the resultant Sergei Malyshev corner. However, Maevski was soon booked and is suspended next week.

Exciting situation
In the closing stages, either side could have scored the eighth goal of the evening as Charleroi sensed that such a narrow lead could count for little in Russia. Both Stepanov and Fehrmann had to be alert, especially the Dinamo captain, and Joan shot over, but the score stayed at 4-3 in what is so far the most exciting final this tournament has produced.