Barcelona and Dinamo among well-placed quintet
Thursday, October 11, 2012
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FC Barcelona, FC Litija, Kairat Almaty, Murcia FS and MFK Dinamo all recorded second straight elite round victories, setting up a fascinating batch of winner-takes-all games on Saturday.
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FC Barcelona, FC Litija, Kairat Almaty, Murcia FS and MFK Dinamo all maintained their perfect elite round records and now face an anxious wait to book a place in the UEFA Futsal Cup finals in Saturday's deciders.
Holders Barcelona built on their record-breaking 18-0 victory in Group C by dispatching Araz Naxçivan 7-1 to set up a winner-takes-all showdown with Slovenian amateurs Litija, whose eye-catching 10-1 triumph against MNK Split was shaped by hat-tricks from Alen Fetič and captain Igor Osredkar.
Kairat cemented their position at the Group B summit, edging out FK EP Chrudim 6-5. KMF Ekonomac Kragujevac are two points back in second after coming from behind to salvage a 3-3 draw with Slov-Matic Bratislava. The Serbian hosts have to win their final game against Kairat to advance.
Murcia produced another emphatic performance, cruising to a 6-1 success against FK Nikars Riga in Group C. The Spanish hosts face 2007 winners Dinamo on Saturday for a place in the finals after the Russian champions consigned Energy Lviv to a 5-0 defeat, Fernandinho registering a hat-trick.
Group D began dramatically in Georgia as SL Benfica were held 3-3 by Győri ETO FC. Leading 3-0 with four minutes remaining, 2010 winners Benfica were stung by quick-fire replies from Juanra and Fábio Aguiar, before Hugo Martins sealed an unlikely point with two seconds left. Hosts Iberia Star Tbilisi, hoping to reach their first finals, prevailed 6-1 against Luparense C/5 thanks in part to Bruno Melo, who plundered a second-half treble inside three minutes.
On Friday, Benfica play Luparense aiming to repeat their 8-4 semi-final win in 2010. Iberia take on Győr, knowing three points would secure qualification if the Portuguese representatives are denied victory.