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Zemskov nets six as matchday two sees hosts claim first points of the tournament and first teams qualify
The second day of Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup action in Dubai held a grand total of 46 goals, six of which were claimed by Russia’s Zemskov, and the hosts held off a Spanish resurgence to take three points.
Brazil from Group A, as well as Russia and Iran from Group B, being the only teams to have won their opening two games, qualify for the next round.
Stay tuned to our channels tomorrow to see which other Group A team makes the cut on day three!
Egypt v Brazil
Both Egypt and Brazil had tasted victory in their opening matches in the Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup Dubai 2018, but today, that taste would inevitably turn sour for one of these sides…
After a fairly subdued first few minutes, the score was opened bizarrely when a very slow-moving shot from Brazil captain Bruno Xavier bobbled through the legs of the Egyptian keeper, Maher.
Brazil’s captain took his tally to three goals in two days as his side took the lead. This lead was then doubled when Igor poked in a loose ball from close range and once the deadlock was broken Gilberto’s men were relentless in attack, increasing their total to six.
Elshahat nodded home to bring a goal back just before the break and the first whistle blew with the score at 1-6. Then, the captain struck as the second period started and the deficit was reduced to four. But then a sublime bicycle kick from the number ten, Mohamed, saw the Brazilians’ advantage halved.
The teams went into the second break at 4-7, and Egypt were looking dangerous.
Throughout the third period, the pace of the match slowed a little as Brazil defended their lead well and it was only until a scuffed clearance gave Filipe the chance to bounce the ball back into the Egyptian net.
A flurry of late activity saw more goals fly in but Brazil managed to nurture and extend their advantage, with the final score ending up at 5-10. Another win in the bag for Gilberto’s side, while Egypt will have to reform to face Span tomorrow.
Goals: 0-1: Bruno Xavier, min. 9 (1); 0-2: Igor, min. 7 (1); 0-3: Mauricinho, min. 2 (1); 0-4: Bokinha, min. 2 (1); 1-4: A. Elshahat, min. 2 (1); 1-5: Igor, min. 2 (1); 1-6: Rodrigo, min. 0 (1); 2-6: Samir, min. 8 (2); 3-6: Mohamed, min. 5 (2); 4-6: Kbatsho, min. 4 (2); 4-7: Igor, min. 4 (2); 4-8: Filipe, min. 4 (3); 5-8: H. Mohamed, min. 3 (3); 5-9: Rodrigo, min. 3 (3); 5-10: Rafinha, min. 2 (3);
Spain v UAE
The second game in Group A on day two saw Joaquin Alonso’s Spain try to make up for lost points by beating their hosts in their own back yard. But the UAE had also lost their opening game in a narrow bout against Egypt, and so had ground of their own to make up.
It was Spain who opened the scoring when Llorenç headed home, but the lead was short lived as the UAE reacted with serious aggression, keen to impress the home crowd.
First, Hesham drew the locals level five minutes from the first whistle, sweeping a low shot in from distance. The scores were equal going into the next period. But the UAE kept up their pressure and two swift goals from Ahmed put them in real control.
Then Humaid, the goalkeeper, got his name on the scoresheet too, as he smashed in a long range shot to make it four. When Ali added a fifth just before the second period ended, Joaquin Alonso’s side were looking in real trouble.
Antonio pulled one back by scrambling the ball over the line but taking a knock in the process, holding his leg instead of celebrating and moving a little gingerly afterwards. This goal seemed to kick the Spaniards into action, as once the score went to 2-5, Llorenç netted his second from distance and within a minute Javi Torres had reduced the difference between the teams to just one, and with time still on the clock, La Roja were back in this game.
But that time slowly ticked away and the Emirati hung on to their slender lead to take their first points, leaving the Spanish winless after two games.
Goals: 1-0: Llorenç, min. 11 (1); 1-1: Hesham, min. 5 (1); 1-2: Ahmed, min. 11 (2); 1-3: Ahmed, min. 11 (2); 1-4: Humaid, min. 3 (2); 1-5: Ali, min. 0 (2); 2-5: Antonio, min. 11 (3); 3-5: Llorenç, min. 5 (3); 4-5: Javi Torres, min. 5 (3);
Russia v USA
Russia survived a scare yesterday when Tahiti forced their way back to 6-6 until a goalkeeping fumble gifted captain Shkarin the winner, but they managed a more comfortable win today, scoring 13 to put an end to the USA’s hopes of silverware.
It was the Russians that got the game off the mark when Zemskov drove in a thunderbolt of a free-kick. However, the US had a reply almost immediately when Mondragon kept his cool to finish a one-on-one and draw his side level.
Then Movikov leapt onto a loose ball to pound into an open net and give the Russian’s the lead once more. Paporotnyi then scored to make it three and it seemed that Likhachev’s men were running away with this one.
But just before the whistle, Albiston tucked one away to bring the score back to 3-2 going into the second period.
This was when the Russians really came alive and drove in goal after goal to separate them from their American opponents. First struck Krash to make it four, then Zemskov took his brace within two minutes… it would be the first of many for the acrobatic number 22.
The goals just kept flying in for the men in red, as Shishin scored, then Romanov hit the seventh, and with just a minute of the second period to go, Zemskov made it three for him, and eight for his side. After the second restart it was straight back to business as Zemskov scored his fourth, fifth and then, incredibly, sixth goal.
Amongst the Russian goal-fest, Albiston netted his second of the match, taking the US total to three, while Russia had accumulated an unassailable 13 goals. Russia make it two wins, and USA have two losses as they face their final matches tomorrow.
Goals: 1-0: Zemskov, min. 11 (1); 1-1: Mondragon, min. 10 (1); 2-1: Movikov, min. 7 (1); 3-1: Paporotnyi, min. 6 (1); 3-2: Albiston, min. 1 (1); 4-2: Krash, min. 7 (2); 5-2: Zemskov, min. 5 (2); 6-2: Shishin, min. 4 (2); 7-2: Romanov, min. 3 (2); 8-2: Zemskov, min. 0 (2); 9-2: Zemskov, min. 7 (3); 10-2: Zemskov, min. 4 (3); 10-3: Albiston, min. 3 (3); 11-3: Romanov, min. 2 (3); 12-3: Krash, min. 1 (3); 13-3: Zemskov, min. 0 (3);
Tahiti v Iran
An agonising loss to Mikael Likhachev’s Russian yesterday saw Tahiti, runners-up of the two previous World Cups, miss out on the chance to pick up points on their opening day. Today they would try again against an Iran side who had put eight past the USA the previous day.
The match started with Tahiti falling behind almost immediately, very much in the same style that the game against Russia had started yesterday. First Akbari scored for Iran with a swivelling shot after just two minutes. Then Masoumizadeh forced a sliver of space to get away a shot, driving it into the bottom corner to make it two.
Despite the Tahitians forming some convincing attacks, they looked far from the team who scored six against Russia yesterday, and to make matters worse, Behzadpour, the Iranian keeper chipped his opposite number for a third just before the break.
Masoumizadeh secured his brace not long after the restart when his long rage free-kick slipped under the body of the keeper. However, Angelo Schirinzi’s men weren’t defeated yet, as Lebaste went on a storming run to take it past Hosseini between the Iranian posts, to slot in to an open net.
From this point on it was stalemate as each side forced their way through the opposing defence, but were unable to find the net again as the goalkeepers were on form.
Eventually the game’s sixth and final goal came from the Tahitian number 11, Zaveroni, who scored to cut the deficit in half just seconds before the final whistle.
It turned out to be nothing but a consolation, and Tahiti suffered their second defeat in two days, as Iran celebrate their second win, and passage to the next round.
Goals: 0-1: A. Akbari, min. 10 (1); 0-2: M. Masoumizadeh, min. 1 (1); 0-3: H. Behzadpour, min. 0 (1); 0-4: M. Masoumizadeh, min. 5 (2); 1-4: Lebaste, min. 5 (2); 2-4: Zaveroni, min. 0 (3);
Remember that you can watch all of the games in the Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup Dubai 2018 live and free at https://beachsoccer.com/schedule.
You can also keep up with all the fixtures, results and standings right here.
