Men’s futsal: all quarter-finalists known

The VERN’ team won the match against Ben-Gurion University of the Negev from Israel 3-0 in the round of sixteen of the European Universities Games Zagreb-Rijeka 2016 at Martinovka Sports Hall.

VERN’ controlled the game with precise passes, often threating the Israeli goal with their fast breaks. Davor Kanjuh scored the first goal for VERN’ in the 4th minute, while Michael Prgomet increased VERN’s advantage to 2-0 nine minutes later.

VERN’ continued controlling the ball and the match in the second half as Željko Petrović increased the lead to 3-0 in the 25th minute. Not even after three goals did they stop attacking the Israeli goal, but the numerous chances were not converted into another goal.

The Israeli players had loud supporters in the crowded stands. Their fans cheered the team by playing drums and singing during the whole match, just like in the previous matches, but the drums didn’t help them in qualifying for the next stage of the tournament.

“We’re pushing through the tournament, we’re going forward, and we’re climbing up. What is essential is that we haven’t conceded a goal today, and now we are waiting for the quarterfinals,” said VERN’ coach Matija Đulvat.

In the quarterfinal, VERN’ will play against the team of the University of Zagreb.

Zagreb won against the Technical University of Ostrava 7-2 in the round of sixteen match played at Martinovka Sports Hall. Zagreb’s team moved aggressively from the start and took the lead in the second minute thanks to Robert Grbić. Tvrtko Pajalić increased the lead to 2-0 in the eighth minute; his goal went into the net over the Czech goalkeeper’s head.

Approximately six minutes before the half time whistle, the Czechs were given a kick from the 10-meter line, but Zagreb’s goalkeeper made a fine save. After the Czech attempt, the University of Zagreb continued to control the game, increasing their lead as Ivan Piplica scored. The minute before the break, the team from Ostrava reduced Zagreb’s advantage with Vojtech Helnik’s goal.

Zagreb stayed focused and continued with the pressure in the second half, and it paid off as Dario Markić scored another in the 24th minute.

After they conceded the fourth goal, the Czechs went for ‘all or nothing’, introducing a rush goalie. The home team took advantage of the situation and scored 2 goals in a single minute; the scoreboard showed 6-1. The scorers were Tomislav Bilopavlović and Josip Grubeša.

Introducing the rush goalie paid off to Ostrava when Jan Mandak scored the second goal for the Czechs in the 37th minute. In the last minute of the match, Zagreb once again shook the net of the Czech team, with Saša Ledinšćak’s goal.

‘We entered the match great and we scored two goals pretty soon,’ said the captain of the University of Zagreb Saša Ledinščak and announced the quarterfinals.
‘We can’t afford any mistakes, especially against VERN’, who are a very good team. We need to be one hundred percent focused and enter the match in full force.’
The team of the University of Mostar won against the Tbilisi State University 4-2. In the first half we watched an interesting match, the Georgians controlled the game and the ball. The halftime score was 2- 1 for the Mostar team. In the second part Mostar scored another for 3-1 and the Georgians opened up, removing the goalkeeper and playing with 5 field players. Mostar knew how to take advantage of it and scored the fourth goal. In the end, they triumphed 4-2.

‘The match was very hard, they had the possession the entire match. We took our chances with the fast breaks and successfully brought the game to an end. The boys from Tbilisi are a very good team and it’s clear that they know how to play futsal,’ said Mostar’s captain Mirko Hrkać.

‘It was a really tough match and the team from Tbilisi are a very dangerous opponent. We were also slightly weakened by the injuries of some players. However, we gathered our strength, played a great match and deservedly won. I am satisfied with my team, we unloaded a great deal of pressure off of our backs with this result. This is a great success for us, and we’ll see in the end where we end up,’ said Mostar coach Ivan Zeljko.

Real drama took place at the Hall of Sports in the game between the University of Belgrade and the Armenian State University of Economics. The winner was determined by penalties following a draw after the two half-times. In the end there could only be one winner, and it was the team from Belgrade.

Things weren’t looking well for the Serbian team. After ten minutes the Armenian players had a 2-0 lead, after goals scored by Saro Galstyan and Khachatur Mikayelyan. Nikola Matijević managed to reduce the Armenian lead, but Saro Galstyan scored another goal for 3:1 at the end of the first half. The rest of the game was marked by an aggressive attack of the Belgrade team, who wanted to achieve a historic result and progress to the quarterfinal. Filip Minić further reduced the lead, and the thriller began when Rastko Manić’s shot hit Sargis Margaryan for 3:3.

In the 10 m shootout the players from Belgrade had more luck. Saro Galstyan and Gor Sargsyan failed to score, while Nikola Matijević and Filip Manić were calm and scored for Belgrade.

The team from the University of Belgrade will play in the quarterfinal against the team from the University of Mostar.

The University of Malaga beat the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences with a sensational result (9:0) at the Sutinska Vrela Sports Hall and qualified for the quarterfinals. In the second minute, Malaga scored from a penalty. During the entire game the team from Malaga kept scoring, while the Lithuanian team couldn’t break through the Spanish defense to score. Despite the lack of suspense, the Lithuanians fought till the end. In the 40th minute the Spanish scored two goals for the final 9:0. The most efficient player was Daniel Ginez Vega from Malaga, with 3 scored goals.

‘It was a good match, but now we have to think about the quarterfinal, because it will be a tough game,’ said Rodrigo Pedrosa Garcia, a player from the winning team.
In a tense game the Siberian Federal University beat Istanbul University at the Sutinska Vrela Sports Hall with a result of 6:3. Even though the goal difference may seem large, both teams played at an equal level. The Russian goalkeeper saved his team with a number of successful saves. The Russians were better in the first half of the game, but when the Istanbul team woke up in the second half, the team from the Siberian Federal University had a hard time defending their lead. The game was marked by a lot of injuries, and thus a lot of breaks. Vladimir Goncharov and Vlarii Zykov from Russia, and Muhammet Altunay from Turkey, each scored 2 goals for their teams.

‘It was a very tough game. The Turkish team is very good. The result isn’t a truthful representation of their quality. We have to rest because we’re playing against Malaga, and they are a great team,’ said the brilliant Russian goalkeeper Oleg Pichugin.

Two games of the round of 16 of the futsal tournament at the European Universities Games were played at the Trešnjevka Sports Hall. The first game was between the teams from the University of Split and the University of Coimbra. The Portuguese won with a result of 3:2. The mostly even game lasted until the end of the first half, but in the second half the Portuguese players took the matters into their own hands. Even though they had a score of 1:0, the Portuguese decided to press more and played with more heart. The players from Split gave it their all, with emotional reactions on their part throughout the game. Pedro Miguel Terreiros Dos Santos scored two goals and used each contact with the ball wisely.

‘The guys need more practice and time to dedicate to their teamwork. The other teams are really good, which shows the high level of this competition, and we have to make sure to practice more for next time,’ Luksa Roje, the Split coach, said of the game.

In the second game of the round of sixteen, the team from the University of Minho beat the team from the University of Maribor with 4:0. Every good goalkeeper needs to be prepared to suffer a few cuts and bruises, and so these goalkeepers were no exception. The second half was marked by an abundance of shots towards the goal, out of which the majority ended up in the hands of the goalkeepers thanks to their devoted defending. At one moment, after a feisty battle for the ball, a shoe of a Portuguese player flew across the pitch. When the tension was at its highest, the Slovene players lost their focus, which in turn resulted in an own goal by Alan Hocevara, who also received a red card and had to leave the court in the last three minutes of the game.

Results