Group A
Erasmus University Rotterdam and the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences played the first match of Group A on the first day of the futsal tournament at the European Universities Games Zagreb – Rijeka 2016.
The Lithuanian players took a 2:0 lead in the first half, and scored another goal by the end. The players from Rotterdam woke up and managed to score their first goal, after which the Dutch goalkeeper conceded another goal. Soon the Rotterdam team managed to score for 2:4, and by the end of the game each team scored one more goal.
The Lithuanian coach Donatas Grazulis expressed his satisfaction with the 5:3 score.
‘We are happy to have started the competition in Croatia with a win. It was a difficult game, and very high quality futsal. We are happy and moving on, but this is just the beginning.’
The derby between the University of Zagreb and the University of Mostar can be described as an attractive show of futsal, which ended with an 8:4 win for Mostar.
Zagreb took the lead in the 3rd minute, but what followed was the domination of Mostar until the end of the match. With Božić, who scored one goal, Čubela, Suton, and Hrkač all scored two goals for Mostar. A spectacular goal was scored by goalkeeper Ilijasev from his position.
Despite their efforts, Zagreb lacked courage and heart. Still, two players deserved praise: the goalkeeper Dragolsavić, and the number 7 Perković, who scored two goals in the 37th and 39th minute.
Group B
The players from VERN’ University of Applied Sciences beat the Polish team from the Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences in the first round of Group B with 2:1. In the second game, the University of Malagi triumphed over the University of Maribor with 9:1.
The reigning European champions from VERN’ overpowered the weaker, but obviously motivated Polish players with goals from Sadat Ziberi and Željko Petrović. VERN’ Coach Matija Đučat was happy with his team’s game, but also praised their opponents:
‘It was a really tough game. The Polish played really well. We showed that we could play at a very high level, which was the most important thing.’
Željko Petrović, one of the best players of the match and the scorer of the second goal, which proved to be deciding, was also content.
‘The opening games are always the most difficult, and the Polish showed they were a tough nut to crack. We are playing on points and our goal is to defend our title. This win is a good step in that direction,’ the VERN’ player said. With this win, the VERN’ players won three important points in Group B, while the Polish players continue into the next round of the tournament with zero points.
The Spanish trashed the insecure Slovenes, who simply were not prepared well enough. Even though they fought well, the Spanish team was too big a bite to chew for them. The player of the match was Javier Atienza Garcia, who scored 5 goals for his team.
The players from VERN’ University and the players from the University of Maribor will meet in the second round, while the Spanish team from Malaga will compete against the Polish.
Group C
The teams from the University of Minho and University North played against each other on the first day of the futsal tournament. The Portuguese players won a landslide victory with a score of 17:0. The Portuguese team from Minho dominated from the beginning of the match, while the guests concentrated on the defense and fast counter-attacks. This tactic did not prove to be very efficient, and they conceded the first goal right in the first minute. They conceded another four goals in the remaining minutes of the first-half and started the second half with 5 goals behind.
The Portuguese were equally motivated in the second half as well, crowning their great performance with a victory. In certain moments, their match felt like a training game. Still, the guests had some good opportunities, but the shots mostly went past the goal. Tiago Nogueira and André Coehlo each scored three goals, the most of all Portuguese players.
In the second game, the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University played against the Technical University of Ostrava. The Georgian players dominated on the field and defeated the Czech players with 6:1.
In the next round, the University of Minho will compete against the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, while University North will play against the Technical University of Ostrava.
Group D
The University of Coimbra convincingly won against Pantheon-Sorbonne University at Trešnjevka Sports Hall 5-0 in the first match of Group D of men’s futsal tournament. The Portuguese started playing very aggressively, putting pressure on the French, and the greater part of the match was played on the French half. The French were not able to break through the Portuguese defense. After only ten minutes, the University of Coimbra led 4-0. In the second half, the Parisians had a few more chances to change the score, but failed to take advantage of any.
‘It was hard, this is our first game. It will be just as hard against Norway, we’ll do our best. We’ll try to win,’ said the player of the winning team, Pedro Carvalho.
Yacine Laimy, a player of the French team, says that the Portuguese played very well.
‘We didn’t have a good tactic to score a goal and that’s bad.’
The teams of the University of Belgrade and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology played in the second match of Group D. Belgrade won 6-2.
Group E
The duel betwen the University of Münster and the University of Split opened the Group E. A high quality futsal was played and the boys from Split were better. They put high pressure on their opponents, intercepting a lot of passes and creating dangerous situations in front of the opposing goal. They scored their first goal in the fourth minute, and the scorer was Ivan Gotovac. However, the Germans got themselves together and tied the score thanks to Wendelin Kemper. After the tie, the boys from Split woke up and put pressure on the Germans, and the first half ended with the advantage of 5-2 for the University of Split.
After the break, the game subsided a bit. The players of the German university tried to turn the score around using the rush goalie, but it backfired on them, as their net was empty and they conceded an easy goal. In the end, each team scored two more goals and the match ended with 7- 4.
The coach of Split, Lukša Roje, said that his team adjusted the opponent’s game and exploited all their weaknesses.
‘Prior to end of the game I decided to include the rush goalie in the game to make them expand and hide the ball.’
Both teams will play their next matches against the University of Istanbul. The German team will play against the Turks on July 18, and Split will face the team from Istanbul on July 19.
Group F
The Armenian State University and Ben-Guorion University in Negev played a 2-2 draw in the first match of Group F. The math was exciting even though there wasn‘t a lot of goals, because the both teams played well and had a strong and aggressive defense. The match was marked by four yellow and one red card. Only one goal was scored in the first half. In the second half, both teams were more vigorous. There was plenty of crossbar hits, but the goalkeepers did a great job and there was only a few goals. Two minutes before the final whistle Armenia scored a penalty and tied the score.
Shlomo Cohen Tzemach said that this was a good match.
‘I’m satisfied. Our next opponent is the team from Russia. They are very good, one of the three best teams at the tournament.’
Results
