Courtesy: UEFA.com


Kairat retain cup as rivals fly high

Tuesday 18 December 2007

Kairat Almaty boosted their hopes ahead of April's 2007/08 UEFA Futsal Cup final four by retaining the Kazakhstan Cup this weekend, while rivals MFK Dinamo Moskva, MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg and ElPozo Murcia FS also continue to show good form at home.

Kairat delight
Having completed the domestic double in the last three seasons in Kazakhstan, Kairat were keen to complete the first part of that feat this time around – they trail Aktobe BTA by three points in the league after ten games. And the pair were matched in the final, with Kairat having won their semi-final against Aray Aktobe while the leaders overcame Alfa Rudny. The decider proved tightly matched – Kairat trailed by two goals on three occasions before Rafael's last-gasp strike made it 4-4 on 40 minutes. Pica Pau and Dentinho edged Kairat ahead in the first period of extra time, then Pica Pau secured his hat-trick after the break before Denis Samokhvalov and Etienne took the scoreline to 9-5.

Dinamo ahead
In Russia, UEFA Futsal Cup holders and final four hosts Dinamo lead Ekaterinburg – the order in which they finished last season. Unbeaten Dinamo hold a six-point advantage over Ekaterinburg and TTG-JAVA Yugorsk, with the champions scheduled to meet both their nearest challengers twice over the first nine days of February. Meanwhile, although nine-time champions MFK Dina Moskva lie eighth, 28 points adrift of Dinamo, they have been lifted by the signings of much-touted Serbia player Peric after a Europe-wide bidding war, and of his KMF Marbo Beograd colleague Predrag Rajiæ, who was joint-top scorer in the UEFA European Futsal Championship finals.

Murcia lead
The fourth side in the UEFA Futsal Cup semi-final draw, Murcia, have been in good shape since the Spanish league resumed following the nation's victory at the European Championship. On 30 November they won 5-3 at high-flying FC Barcelona, a week later saw off Valencia FS and then drew 2-2 at UD Guadalajara FS to lead Interviú Fadesa by one point. The Spanish championship, unlike the Russian, is decided by an end-of-season play-off.






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