The final of the Mundialito de Clubes in Moscow will be fought between SC Braga and Domusbet Catania
Day four in Moscow saw SC Braga coolly breeze past CR Flamengo, who will face hosts BSC Spartak in the play off for third-place, and a much tighter game resulted in Domusbet Catania joining the European champions in the final.
In the two play-offs to decide the lower finishing positions, the games were surprisingly one-sided as BSC Lokomotiv put seven past a sorry Bate Borisov and Levante conceded nine against Sporting.
But first, this is how the tomorrow’s finalists were decided.
SC Braga 4-0 CR Flamengo (SEMI-FINAL)
SC Braga were yet to be beaten in the competition and were looking to take that run all the way to the final with victory in today’s semi-final bout against Brazilian side, CR Flamengo.
They started on the front foot as Leo Martins tucked away a free-kick to open the scoring and two minutes later, Braga goalkeeper Padilha sent a rocket towards his opposite number. The shot took a fortunate deflection off the head of a defender which left Andrade with no chance of stopping it.
After the two early goals, Flamengo upped their game to keep the tie under control, and they did well to stem the flow of goals and went into the second period with a manageable two-goal deficit.
They kept up this solid defence all the way through the second period but Flamengo were still unable to find the net themselves and they squandered several opportunities, including some free-kicks in promising positions.
As the second period came to a close, Bruno Xavier put Braga even further in front as he flew in to meet a ball on the volley, which he smashed into the sand with brilliant technique, making the ball bounce over the helpless Andrade.
The third and final period began with the score at 3-0 and Rodrigo Fernandes Pereira’s Flamengo needed to come up with something good to drag themselves back into the match.
But try as they might, the Brazilian side just could not break through the Braga backline and Padilha kept hopes of his first clean sheet of the competition alive. Jordan Santos then made it four from a free-kick and it looked as if time had run out for Flamengo.
The Portuguese side calmly saw the game out and protected the lead until the final whistle. After an inspired performance, the MVP prize went to Rafael Padilha.
CR Flamengo will battle in the third-place play-off tomorrow, while SC Braga make it to the final!
Goals: 1-0: Leo Martins, min. 9 (1); 2-0: Padilha, min. 7 (1); 3-0: Bruno Xavier, min. 1 (2); 4-0: Jordan, min. 5 (3);
BSC Spartak 4(3)-(4)4 Domusbet Catania (SEMI-FINAL)
Domusbet Catania had qualified for today’s semi-final by the skin of their teeth, having won only one game in the group stages. BSC Spartak, however, hadn’t dropped a point in the competition, and the hosts were keen to keep that up and join SC Braga in the final.
Catania had their star keeper, Sydorenko, back from suspension and he really played his part in the first period, making an incredible double save to keep the hosts at bay.
The bout was evenly matched throughout the opening 12 minutes, but the deadlock was broken towards the end of it, when Spartak keeper Bazhenov launched a shot towards the opposite goal but a powerful header from Bokach saw the ball fly right back in the direction of the Spartak goal and Bazhenov couldn’t scramble back in time to stop it rippling the net.
With a slim lead, Catania had the advantage as the first whistle blew. But the hosts gave the crowd a reason to scream by levelling the tie up just after the restart, when Novikov slid across the sand to divert a loose ball past Sydorenko.
Just minutes later the local team took the lead when Ryabko tucked a shot away and Catania were suddenly trailing. But there was a positive response from the Italians, who increased the offensive and managed to bring the score back to 2-2 with, what could possibly be, one of the goals of the tournament from Gentilin.
He pounded a shot right into the corner from a real distance, and even though the keeper got a hand to it, the power behind the strike was too much, and Domusbet Catania were level again.
The teams continued neck and neck all the way through the rest of the second period and well into the final one, and it was clear that this game was going right down to the wire.
Then the stalemate ended as Zurlo drove a powerful shot into the sand, where it bobbled high in the air, catching Bazhenov off guard between the Spartak posts. Catania had their noses in front but now they felt the full force of the Russian offensive play.
Despite the frantic efforts of the Spartak strikers, Catania caught them on the break and when a rebounded save fell to Bryshtel, the Belarussian national team player buried his shot to push the lead to 4-2.
With only minutes left it looked as if Domusbet Catania had won it, until Makarov rifled in a free-kick and a minute later Catarino flew in at the near post to volley in an equalizer!
After Catania looked to have sealed their place in the final, the match stood at 4-4 and when neither team managed to find a winner the match went to extra time and then penalties.
Thanger scored first for the hosts to the elation of the stadium. Corosiniti then saw his shot saved, giving the supporters even more to cheer about. But then Ryabko’s penalty was also saved and when Bryshtel netted his spot kick, the teams were level at one penalty each.
Makarov scored, then Zurlo did the same, then Novikov and when Fred converted the eighth penalty the teams were level at 3-3. It was Catarino’s turn. He took a short run-up and put the penalty wide.
Gentilin stepped up. All he needed to do was score this penalty and Catania were in the final. He picked his spot and smashed the ball past Parkhomenko and the Catania players lined up behind him all ran to hug their hero, who subsequently won the trophy as the game’s MVP.
The hosts will have to battle CR Flamengo for a third-place finish while the final will see Domusbet Catania take on SC Braga.
Goals: 0-1: Bokach min. 4 (1); 1-1: Novikov, min. 11 (2); 2-1: Ryabko, min. 8 (2); 2-2: Gentilin, min. 6 (2); 2-3: Zurlo, min. 5 (3); 2-4: Bryshtel, min. 3 (3); 3-4: Makarov, min. 2 (3); 4-4: Catarino, min. 2 (3);
PSO: 1-0: Thanger, scored; 1-0: Corosiniti, saved; 1-0: Ryabko, saved; 1-1: Bryshtel, scored; 2-1: Makarov, scored; 2-2: Zurlo, scored; 3-2: Novikov, scored; 3-3: Fred, scored; 3-3: Catarino, missed; 3-4: Gentilin, scored;
BSC Bate Borisov 0-7 BSC Lokomotiv (7th-Place Play-Off)
After finishing bottom of their groups, the scrap between Bate Borisov and BSC Lokomotiv was now all about ending the competition in the highest possible position.
The deadlock in the play-off for seventh place was broken in emphatic style when Peletckii powered in an overhead kick, his first goal of the tournament, to set Lokomotiv up and running.
Despite a steady increase in pressure, Bate Borisov defended well and kept the Railway Men at bay. Llorenç smashed a long-range effort against the bar, but a second goal eluded Lokomotiv until the last minute of the period when the Spanish number ten was given too much space on the flank and this time found his target with a signature bicycle kick.
At 0-2, Lokomotiv started the second period with the lead, and it was by no means an impossible task for the Belarussian side to mount a comeback with the talent in their squad.
However, the task was made a little tougher when Kryshanov redirected an off-target overhead by Krutikov into the net to push the difference between the teams to three goals.
The second whistle blew with Bate Borisov having fallen further behind looked somewhat dejected, and as the third and final period began they showed little in terms of an attacking threat, other than some occasional long shots.
Kryshanov then saw his effort deflected to deceive the keeper and make it four. In the last two minutes, Rafinha, Krutikov and Avgustov each got themselves on the scoresheet and wrapped the three points up for BSC Lokomotiv in what turned out to be a comfortable victory.
The MVP award went to Kryshanov, who finished the tournament on a total of six, as BSC Lokomotiv take up seventh place and Bate Borisov assume eighth.
Goals: 0-1: Peletckii, min. 8 (1); 0-2: Llorenç, min. 1 (1); 0-3: Kryshanov V, min. 8 (2); 0-4: Kryshanov V, min. 8 (3); 0-5: Rafinha, min. 3 (3); 0-6: Krutikov, min. 1 (3); 0-7: Avgustov, min. 1 (3);
Sporting CP 9-1 Levante UD (5th-Place Play-Off)
It was an Iberian derby (the second of the Mundialito de Clubes 2019) which would decide whether Spain’s Levante UD or Portugal’s Sporting CP finished the competition in fifth place.
An evenly balanced match-up on paper, this tie took a while to see its first goal scored as each keeper made some essential saves in the early stages. But the breakthrough did come eventually, and Sporting drew first blood when Belchior pulled off a first-touch bicycle kick just three minutes before the first whistle.
The lead was a narrow one but José Fonseca’s men managed to double it when Jordan was fouled with literally one second on the clock. After a lengthy period receiving treatment, Jordan hit Sporting’s second, but the ball barely had time to reach the net before the klaxon sounded.
A two-goal cushion going into the second period, Sporting looked dangerous, keeping the Levante defenders on their toes. Late in the period, Coimbra grabbed himself another goal when he jumped to beat Dona to the ball and header past the Spanish keeper, making it three to Sporting.
But Levante had a response when a rare mistake from Coimbra at the back allowed Edu Suarez to pick his pocket and blast the ball past Elliot, bringing the score back to 3-1.
There was still plenty of time to mount a comeback and suddenly Elliot was the busier of the two keepers. In the last minute, though, Sporting broke on the counter and Coimbra made up for his earlier error by stretching to poke in a fourth for the men in green and white.
With just one 12-minute period left, Levante had a lot to do, made more difficult by Jordan scoring his third and then fourth goal of the game.
Time was running out fast for the Spaniards. They had five minutes to score five goals if they wanted to force extra time. But Ricardinho calmly converted a penalty and Coimbra nodded in a second to take the score to an unassailable 8-1 and Levante were well and truly beaten.
Belchior topped it off with his second of the game and Sporting finish the Mundialito de Clubes 2019 in fifth place while Levante occupy sixth. The MVP award went to Coimbra.
Goals: 1-0: Belchior, min. 3 (1); 2-0: Jordan, min. 0 (1); 3-0: Coimbra, min. 4 (2); 3-1: Edu Suarez, min. 3 (2); 4-1: Coimbra, min. 0 (2); 5-1: Jordan, min. 5 (3); 6-1: Jordan, min. 5 (3); 7-1: Ricardinho, min. 2 (3); 8-1: Coimbra, min. 2 (3); 9-1: Belchior, min. 0 (3);
Check out tomorrow’s fixtures and keep up to date on the Mundialito de Clubes in Moscow on the Beach Soccer Worldwide website, and remember that you can watch all of the games LIVE and FREE at beachsoccer.com/live
