Italy, Russia, Switzerland and Belarus strike first

Top-ranked sides dominate as the Belarusian catch the Polish by surprise in a thrilling opening of the Euro Beach Soccer League Catania 2014

Poland’s comeback falls one goal short against surprising Belarus

Beach Soccer fans could not need to way longer than one single match to witness the first surprise in this recently opened Euro Beach Soccer League, with the first stage in Catania, Italy. With new coach Gilberto da Costa in command, Belarus upset one of the most solid teams of last year, Poland, to clinch the first points in the League. A devastating first period by the Belarusian caught the Polish by surprise, and the latter reaction fell one goal short.

Despite the Belarusian brought on a terrific team work, one man will be specially self-satisfied with today’s performance. Ihar Bryshtsel, with three goals, put his team into orbit, and opened a gap the Polish could not recover in time. It seemed that Saganowski’s team found it hard to overcome the strong beginning by the Belarusian, and it was not until the last minutes of the second period that they could pull back their first goals, with Widziki’s 1-3 and Lenart’s 2-4 in the very last second of the time, after Kanstantinau’s 1-4.

Poland tried to gear up in the last frame, but they run out of time, mainly thanks to Belarus’ stout defense. Brazilian Gilberto’s hand was clearly felt in the team, as their precise order and tactical mechanisms surprised the Polish, and merited the first points in this Euro Beach Soccer League opening stage in Catania.

Goals: 0-1: Bryshtsel, min. 10 (1); 0-2: Bryshtsel, min. 4 (1); 0-3: Bryshtsel, min. 9 (2); 1-3: Widzicki, min. 2 (2); 1-4: Kanstantinau, min. 1 (2); 2-4: Lenart, min. 0 (2); 3-4: Piechnik, min. 7 (3)

Italy runs past Netherlands in convincing win

The Italian National side brought on a convincing victory in their debut in the Euro beach Soccer League. Hosting the first stage of the regular phase in Catania, the Azzurri longed for a brilliant performance to reinforce their self-confidence, and to show their fans and opponents that they were ready to fight for the highest goals.

The opening 2-0 for Esposito’s side, thanks to the hits by Gori and Zurlo, was decisive, as it secured that Netherlands would need more than one hit to balance the score back. And that would give the Azzurri time enough to block that eventual reaction. This is exactly how the hosts built their win today, as they immediately responded to the Orange hits by Van Rooijen and Van Gessel to always stay two goals ahead.

After getting ahead controlling the game in the first two periods, the Transalpine would definitely took off in the third frame. Local hero Zurlo, one of the stars of Catania Beach Soccer, and Ramacciotti sealed the win for the Azzurri, who cruised to final whistle with no major problems.

Goal: 1-0: Gori, min. 10 (1); 2-0: Zurlo, min. 8 (1); 2-1: Van Rooijen, min. 0 (1); 3-1: Corosiniti, min. 11 (2); 3-2: Van Gessel, min. 6 (2); 4-2: Gori, min. 0 (2); 5-2: Zurlo, min. 9 (3); 6-2: Ramacciotti, min. 6 (3)

Two own goals penalize France

When playing against the best National team in the World, Russia, you need to do everything well on the sand, and commit no mistakes, if you want to have real chances of beating them. The Russian need little aid, and if you even help them with two hits in your own goal, your chances of winning get really scarce. Two mistakes like these condemned today a really laudable performance by the French, and made things much easier for the tyrant Russian side, who equals Italian records on top of group A.

Les Bleus hit the sand in a focused and determined fashion, with the strong will to have the Russian National Side suffering for the points. Indeed, Samoun would sweep France ahead, only to find, though, François send the ball straight to the back of his own net just seconds before. The French did not let that distract them, and kept opposing a fierce resistance. But luck was not at their side today, and Fischer, in another unfortunate move, sent the ball to the back of his goal again, pushing Russia ahead. That was just what the World Champions needed to get hold of the game. Shishin, just seconds afterwards, bagged his first today for the 1-3. 

François’ side kept fighting and fighting, and Pagis even managed to pull another goal back for his team, with a brilliant overhead kick. But that was the end of the road for Les Bleus, as Shishin and Skaring would make the score 2-5 in just a matter of two minutes, with Makarov to follow to definitely secure the points for the defending champions.
 
Goal: 1-0: Samoun, min. 1 (1); 1-1: François (og), min. 1 (1); 1-2: Fischer, min. 2 (2); 1-3: Shishin, 2 (2); 2-3: Pagis, min. 4 (3); 2-4: Shishin, min. 3 (2); 2-5: Shkarin, min. 2 (2); 2-6: Makarov, min. 1 (3);

Switzerland bend Germany to earn crucial points

Switzerland led a solid performance in their debut today in this season’s Euro Beach Soccer League, beating Germany and clinching the points at stake. After building a consistent advantage, the Swiss side would not let the Germans any closer, and would advance to a crucial win that gets them in the right direction in this Euro Beach Soccer League 2014.

First period became a leveled battle between these two neighbour countries. Misev took advantage of the rebound after Ott’s penalty kick hit the cross bar, sweeping the Alpine ahead, but Thurk would equalize little afterwards. Ott again, wanting to forget about his previous miss, would not let the period end with the one-one, and netted his first of the day for the 1-2 right over the horn.

The Swiss converting two goals (Stankovic and Ott) in the second period and conceding none was the game’s turning point. That got Schirinzi’s side a comfortable three-hit advantage, the one they used to keep the Germans away in the score until the end of the game. Only Olli, with the 2-4 midway third frame could push Boringschulte’s side onwards, but that extra boost was not enough to disarm the Swiss dominion. 

Goals: 0-1: Misev, min. 7 (1); 1-1: Thurk, min. 5  (1); 1-2: Ott, min. 0 (1); 1-3: Stankovic, min. 1 (2); 1-4: Ott, min. 1 (2); 2-4: Olli, min. 6 (3);

EURO BEACH SOCCER LEAGUE – CATANIA 2014

Match results
Fri 20.06.14   
14:45 – Poland 3-4 Belarus
16:00 – Italy 6-2 Netherlands
17:15 – France 2-6 Russia
18:30 – Germany 2-4 Switzerland  

Matches for tomorrow
Sat 21.06.14   
14:45 – Poland vs Germany
16:00 – Switzerland vs Belarus   
17:15 – Russia vs Netherlands
18:30 – France vs Italy

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