Benfica power their way through

SL Benfica strode into the UEFA Futsal Cup second qualifying round with a perfect record from the Group 8 mini-tournament.

Home fans happy
The Portuguese team were too good for MNK Kaskada Gracanica, Athina '90 CFA and KMF CD Shop Mozart, competition hopefuls from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece and Serbia and Montenegro. Benfica were the hosts of the round-robin tournament, and they did not disappoint the home fans.

Two trebles
The first match saw Mozart come back from a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw with Athina. Ioannis Metevelis had given the Greek side a half-time lead and Ilias Bousmpouras doubled the lead two minutes after the restart. However, Nebojsa Kecojevic and Nikola Ulicevic struck back to make it honours even. The stage was then set for Benfica and they were soon in their stride, winning 11-0 against Gracanica. The rout included hat-tricks for Rodrigues De Brito and André.

Five for Nikolic
Gracanica followed that opening-day defeat with an amazing 8-12 reverse at the hands of Mozart. The two teams traded goals throughout the contest before a devastating five-minute spell midway through the second half saw Mozart score five times without reply to take full control. The last goal in this little flurry came from Mirko Nikolic, who struck five times in all.

Point needed
Benfica made it two from two with a 12-0 triumph against Athina. Rodrigues De Brito hit another treble, while Gomes Palhete Pereira also weighed in with three goals in a one-sided contest. The victory meant Benfica would win the group if they could get at least a point against Mozart in their final game.

Seven in a row
However, before that decisive match came Athina's 7-3 victory against Gracanica, who had reached the last eight in 2001/02. Muamer Orucevic had given the Bosnian team a ninth-minute lead but Athina then struck seven times in a row, including a Stefanos Michalis double, to make sure of victory.

Fears eased
In the final group contest, Gomes Palhete Pereira put Benfica in front in the first minute but there was an immediate equaliser from Zoran Zaric. André then restored Benfica's lead in the sixth minute. Five minutes after the interval, Arnaldo made it 3-1 only for Kecojevic to reduce the deficit a minute later. However, Gomes Palhete Pereira eased Portuguese fears almost instantly and Benfica were through with a 4-2 victory.