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Women’s futsal: Moscow State University of Mechanical Engineering takes the gold

24/7/2016

News - Women’s futsal: Moscow State University of Mechanical Engineering takes the gold

Jagiellonian University in Krakow beat the University of Zagreb 2:0 in a penalty shootout in the match for third place in the women’s futsal tournament at the European Universities Games. Regulation time ended in a 2:2 draw, and the new European university futsal champion had to be determined by penalties.

The Polish team was dominant in the first minutes of the game, crowning their confident performance with a goal in the fourth minute. The score remained unchainged until the half time break as both team played excellent defense. Tensions arose in the second half: the Polish increased their lead in the 35th minute, but Zagreb refused to surrender, pulling a praise-worhty comeback by scoring two goals, in the 38th and the 40th minute.

The outcome of the match had to be determined by penalties, and Jagiellonian University proved more successful, winning the shootout and the bronze with 2:0.
‘It was an interesting match. The Polish team was focused; they scored an early goal and defended well. They patiently waited for an opportunity for a counter attack and eventually succeeded. We have shown strong character as we tied the score playing with a rush-goalie, but we were not concentrated enough during the penalty shootout. I congratulate the Poles for the win,’ said Jakov Ungarov, the coach of the University of Zagreb.

‘The match was hard, we were under a lot of stress as we spilled a 2:0 lead, the Croatians managed to get back in the game. This was stressful for my team, but we won in the penalty shootout. This is a great score for us seeing this was the first tame we participated in the European Universities Games,’ said the coach of Jagiellonian University in Krakow Krzysztof Mastalerz.

Moscow State University of Civil Engineering and the University of Munster clashed in the great final. The Russians played aggressively from the very start, putting a lot of pressure on their opponents, and Munster lasted only five minutes before conceding a goal: Elena Merkulova opened the scoring. The Moscow team continued in the same pace, hitting the post in the 13th minute, while the Germans were mostly on the defensive. Just when it seemed that Munster lifted the pressure, Moscow increased their lead as Zinaide Chetvernine scored in the 16th minute. However, Joana Beckers reduced the Russian lead two minutes later and it was 2:1. The Germans’ joy didn’t last long: Munster were still celebrating their goal when the Russians struck back in the 18th minute, as Olesya Vorobey scored a goal which proved decisive in the end.

The second half saw a neat tactical battle, and there were few opportunities on both sides. The Germans started playing with a rush goalie, but it didn’t pay off: they came closest to scoring when they hit the post in the 29th minute. The happy Russians started celebrating the moment the match ended, while the heart-broken Germans had to admit they were bested. Moscow coach Aleksandr Pleshakov was delighted with his players’ performance, and was so euphoric he only gave a short comment:

‘I am proud of my players for winning the trophy. The team followed the plan we had set up, and months of hard work paid off tonight.’

Moscow captain Olesya Vorobey added that winning the title was a dream come true, and that many hours of sacrifice and training have finally paid off:

‘I have to congratulate our opponents, they were a tough nut to crack, but we were persistent and managed to beat them.’

After the match ended, a ceremony was held where the best players of the tournament were awarded. Olesyi Vorobey from Moscow State University of Engineering won the best player award, while Kathrin Klimas from the University of Munster was named the best goalkeeper.

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