KP Lodz knock out Spain’s Levante to meet the defending champions in Sunday’s Euro Winners showdown
The final of the Euro Winners Cup 2019 will be fought between the defending champions SC Braga and KP Lodz, last year’s third place finishers.
KP Lodz just edged past Levante by a single goal, and Braga, the Portuguese league and Mundialito de Clubes champions, handed a defeat to keeper-less Delta to make their third final in as many years.
Meanwhile, there were some top-level games in the play-offs, including Kristall against Sporting CP, and Spartak Moscow versus Domusbet Catania.
Click here for all of today’s matches and highlights.
SEMI-FINALS
KP Lodz 2 – 1 Levante UD
Last year’s third-place finishers had been overlooked by many in the build-up to the 2019 edition, but KP Lodz soon gave the doubters something to talk about as Jordan put Levante on the backfoot with a strike midway through the first period.
The Spaniards did have a response though, and it came in the form of a Guisado golazo and the sides started the second period with nothing to separate them.
As the next 12 minutes ticked by, golden chances were squandered and amazing saves were made to keep the score tied going into the final period.
A breakthrough goal came from Jordan, and after scoring earlier in the game, his effort proved the killer blow for Levante and the Poles defended furiously for the remaining minutes until time eventually ran out for Levante.
Having already secured their best ever finish, KP Lodz will have to beat the defending champions if they want to go all the way and claim their first European title, and Braga didn’t go easy on their semi-final opponents…
SC Braga 8 – 3 FC Delta
The defending champions had a distinct advantage heading into their semi-final tie against FC Delta, as both of the goalkeepers of the Russian side had been suspended. As a result, the number ten outfield player Zakharov, spent the battle for a place in the final between the sticks.
Delta held out for a few minutes before an adventurous run by the make-shift goalkeeper was cut short by a Braga interception, and Leo Martins slotted the ball into an open net; Braga were off.
They netted three before the first whistle, Leo Martins getting two of them, and after the restart, his twin Bernardo joined him in getting his name on the scoresheet twice.
Andreev put away a penalty for Delta but Braga kept coming, taking their score to eight with Bokinha, Filipe and Jordan also finding the net.
Delta managed to score three in total, but their rivals couldn’t be caught, and Braga will make the final for the third year running, taking today’s game with a comfortable eight goals to three.
PLAY-OFFS
5th-place play-offs
Giant-slayers Euroformat Bodon had the chance at a fifth-place finish if they could see off BSC Lokomotiv in today’s fifth-place play-off.
But despite defending their lines well, the Ukrainian champions couldn’t break through the Railway Men’s lines, while Llorenç and Mamadiev scored in the first and third period to take a close victory.
It could and should have been more though, as several prime opportunities slipped through Lokomotiv’s fingers.
Also hoping to clinch fifth, after exiting the competition in the quarter-finals yesterday, was Spartak Moscow who took and immediate control of the match against Domusbet Catania BS.
The Italians found the net twice through Lucao in the first period but trailed 3-2, and Spartak extended the lead just after the restart.
Catania then shifted into a superior gear to put the game the bed with a late goals wrapping up the match and taking the final score to 5-3.
9th-place play-offs
There was a surprising concentration of beach soccer’s biggest names (both teams and players) battling for a ninth-place finish in the 2019 Euro Winners Cup play-off.
The first of which was a well-balanced match between Alanya Belediyespor (Turkey) and Artur Music (Ukraine), where the tables turned several times throughout the match as Artur Music went 2-4 ahead, lost the lead and then grabbed it back in the last minute.
It was Glutski who struck to claim the victory, but Gabriele Gori scored two to take his tournament total to 23 – with one game still to play!
Last year’s finalists, BSC Kristall, met the local Lisbon giants, Sporting CP in their play-off bout. They had a 2-0 lead at the first whistle thanks to strikes from Shishin and Rodrigo but were unable to keep the men in green and white stripes out entirely.
Catarino got Sporting off the mark, but Kristall continued to press and got their final tally up to five, as Shishin completed a brace, to win the match.
13th-place play-offs
CSKA took the lead after a matter of minutes in their match against BSC Vybor, when Semenov netted in the first period. But a reaction came from Vybor’s Levchenko, who slid in an equalizer in the second.
A close game was eventually won from the penalty spot, when the Moscow side scored two to Vybor’s one. Grande Motte took a comfortable victory against CWP Cservy, as Favos scored a three of the French side’s seven.
Cservy put away three goals by way of consolation, but Grande Motte were too far ahead to be caught and confirmed victory on the penultimate day of the Euro Winners Cup in Nazaré.
Remember that all games will be streamed live at beachsoocer.com/live!
Stay up-to-date on all of the results, fixtures and standings of the Women’s Euro Winners Cup and Euro Winners Cup on the Beach Soccer Worldwide website!
https://beachsoccer.com/events/women-s-euro-winners-cup-nazare-2019
https://beachsoccer.com/events/euro-winners-cup-nazare-2019
https://beachsoccer.com/events/euro-winners-challenge-2019
