The University of Malaga and Siberian Federal University played an interesting match in men’s futsal quarter-finals at the European Universities Games Zagreb-Rijeka 2016. Both teams were the favourites in the tournament, and the students from the Russian University proved to be better. After this defeat, the University of Malaga will play the match for the fifth place. The Russians started the game more aggressively and managed to score two goals in the first half of the match. The Spanish team started to fight back after the break, and Luciano Wartinez scored the first goal for the Spanish team. In the second half, the Spanish team continued to put pressure on their opponents, but it wasn’t enough to even the score. The Russians were better at using their opportunities to score, and soon they scored two more goals for 4:1. Claudio Manuel Da Silva gave hope to the Spanish team by scoring a goal, but the team from the Siberian Federal University ensured their victory by scoring their fifth goal for the final result 5:2.
‘It was a difficult match in which our opponents used all of our mistakes to their benefit. There were moments when we played well, and in the end, the details decided who would win. The key of their success is their goal keeper who was incredible during the whole match’, said Claudio Manuel Da Silva, who scored the second goal for Malaga.
‘This match was worthy of the finals. Two futsal star countries, Spain and Russia, played against each other and that was why the match was so intense’, said Nikolay Zheleznov, the Russian coach.
In men’s futsal quarter-finals at the Hall of Sports, the University of Mostar won against the University of Belgrade with 6:5 on penalties after there were no goals scored in the full-time. The entire match was tense and both teams showed their best moves, especially in defence. The winner was pronounced after the penalties. The players from Belgrade were just a shade weaker in penalties and the team from the University of Mostar won with 6:5.
‘I’m very happy and excited. It was a difficult match for us. We’ve been playing the whole tournament with the same line-up. The team from the University of Belgrade is very good, but we won today. We were luckier. The penalty shots are always a game of chance. I’m very proud of my guys "’, said Ivan Zeljko, the coach of the team from Mostar.
‘The match between Serbia and Bosnia was very difficult, but also great. Unfortunately, my team didn’t use their chances, and you never know with penalties. Yesterday we won on penalties, and today we lost. I’m looking forward to the next matches in the play-offs for the fifth to eight place. Tomorrow, we’re up against a difficult opponent, the University of Malaga. We have to do our best’, said Vladimir Vuletić, the coach of the team from the University of Belgrade.
Two Portuguese teams, the University of Mingo and the University of Coimbra, played each other in the quarter-finals at Martinovka Sports Hall. The team from the University of Minho won with 5:4. The team from Coimbra was in the lead in the beginning of the match. Both teams had a lot of opportunities to score goals, and they showed their good game at the same time. Coimbra was in the lead most of the time, but the players from the University of Minho were more concentrated and they used the opportunity to take the lead. The team from Coimbra tried to even the score in the last two minutes of the match, but they weren’t able to score goals. The University of Minho closed up and went on defence, closing the goal from the opponents.
The over-crowded stands of Martinovka Sports Hall were a sign of the upcoming match between two home teams from Zagreb, the University of Zagreb and VERN’ University of Applied Sciences. The match between two city rivals ended with 4:3 for the University of Zagreb. It was a tense match with nine yellow cards and one red for the goal keeper of the winning team. Zagreb surprised VERN’ in the first five minutes, and they scored two goals. VERN’ didn’t manage to get close to Zagreb in the first half-time that ended with 3:1 for Zagreb. In the second half-time, it was as if a new team exited the VERN’s locker room. The current European Futsal Champions, VERN’ started pressing Zagreb’s defence and they managed to even the score to 3:3. Afterwards, the match was filled with excellent moves from both teams. Zagreb managed to score a goal six minutes till the end for 4:3 which was also the final score.
Saša Ledinščak, Zagreb’s captain, was pleased with his team and the way they played.
‘It was a great match and we played very well. We managed to score three goals in the first half-time. It’s quite normal that there was a lapse in our concentration which the opposing team took as a chance to get back in the game. But in the end, we believed in ourselves, our strength, and luck. We have several excellent players who can go one-on-one and end the game. Hats off to them’, said Ledinščak, Zagreb’s captain.
The team captain from VERN’ said he was proud of his team and that they hadn’t given up even when it was 3:0, but persisted and got to 3:3.
‘It was yet another great match for the University of Zagreb and for VERN’. Our matches are always tense. However, we were missing a few of our key players. In the end, Zagreb was better and I want to congratulate them on their victory. My team never lost hope and we came back to score for 3:3. But this time, lady luck was on Zagreb’s side.’
