Courtesy: UEFA.com

Dinamo turn on the style again

Thursday, 13 October 2005

MFK Dinamo Moskva kept alive their dreams of lifting the 2005/06 UEFA Futsal Cup with a stunning first qualifying round performance.

Fine start
The Russian champions were beaten in the final of the 2004/05 edition and have pledged to go one better this time around, beginning with their involvement in the four-team Group 2. They got off to a fine start in Monday's opener by beating SC Piccadilly Varna of Bulgaria 6-2 and it was to prove their toughest challenge in the mini-tournament played in the Czech Republic. They could now face a rematch of last spring's final against Action 21 Charleroi, provided the Belgian team at least draw their closing contest against Clearex Chorzów on Friday.

Onwards and upwards
Andorran side FS Cap del Carrer were then dispatched 14-0 on Tuesday before the Russian giants brushed aside the challenge of hosts FK Era-Pack Chrudim with a 6-0 victory in tonight's final contest. Dinamo have won through to Group B of the second qualifying round to be played early next year against three other champion clubs, although these have yet to be determined.

Maevskiy opener
In Dinamo's opening contest, Varna fought back from a two-goal deficit to make it 2-2 at the interval. However, Konstantin Maevskiy and then a quickfire double from Joan helped Dinamo move into a comfortable position before Alexandre Rakhimov put the seal on a strong second-half showing.

Joan scores five
Things were a lot more straightforward in the second contest against Cap del Carrer with Joan scoring an astonishing five times without reply in the first ten minutes. Not to be outdone by the Brazilian's brilliance, Rakhimov added a second-half hat-trick to leave the Andorran side thinking only of next year’s challenge.

In control
After a goalless nine minutes, it was Maevskiy who broke the deadlock in the decider against Chrudim. After the dismissal of the home team’s Dušan Dvorák, the Russian international Maevskiy then put his side firmly in control with a second three minutes before the interval. Henrique added a third just before half-time before another three goals after the break confirmed Dinamo's qualification.

Thrilling draw
Despite defeat in their last game, Varna were able to secure second place in the group. They had begun with a 5-1 success against Cap del Carrer before a thrilling 4-4 draw against hosts Chrudim in their second outing. It could have been so much better for Varna, for whom Vladimir Petrov scored twice, as only a Daniel Rajnoch goal for Chrudim in the 39th minute denied them a second straight win. Chrudim's other group game had been a 3-1 success against Cap del Carrer on the opening day.



Courtesy: UEFA.com

Perfect record fires Benfica

Thursday, 13 October 2005


SL Benfica have cruised through to the second qualifying round of the 2005/06 UEFA Futsal Cup after three wins out of three - and now face a rematch of the 2004 final against Boomerang Interviú.

Jardel double
The Portuguese champions made sure of their place in the next phase with an 8-0 victory against Hungarian mini-tournament hosts Colourspectrum Aramis Budapest tonight, with six of the goals coming inside the first 14 minutes. Chief among the Benfica scorers was No6 Jardel, who struck the fifth and sixth goals.

Shock averted
Benfica had begun their campaign on Monday with a 3-2 win against preliminary round qualifiers Tal Grig Yerevan of Armenia. André Lima had put Benfica in front after just three minutes but their opponents were to surprise them by taking a 2-1 lead at half-time through two goals from Grigor Kapukranyan. However, André Lima restored parity just after the interval and Miguel Almeida snatched victory in the last minute.

Firm control
Adil Amarante’s Benfica side had no such difficulties in their second outing against AGBU Ararat Nicosia FC of Cyprus on Tuesday. This time Zé Maria started the ball rolling before André Lima struck twice to put his side in firm control. Jardel and Miguel Almeida rounded out the scoring.

Four points
Despite defeat in their final game, Budapest finished second in the pool. They began with a 7-2 victory against Ararat Nicosia, thanks in part to two goals from Gábor Csernai. Budapest then were held 3-3 by Yerevan as a last-minute goal from Emil Mesropyan prevented the Hungarian side from taking three points.

Chance for revenge
Benfica will now face three sides, including Spanish champions Boomerang, in Group A of the second qualifying round to be played early next year. Boomerang beat Benfica 7-5 on aggregate to win the 2003/04 edition. The top two teams from that section will progress to the semi-finals where they meet the top two from Group B.




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