The competition proper kicked off on Monday with Braga and Sporting among the winners.
Group A
Last year’s Euro Winners Cup finalists Artur Music got their 2017 campaign up and running with a tight 2-1 victory over home favourites ACD O Sotao.
Oleksandr Rysenko and Egor Eremeev gave Artur Music a slender two-goal lead midway through the second frame before Japan international Takasuke Goto reduced the arrears.
However, it failed to inspire a fightback as the Ukrainian club earned the points. FC Valicecar are also on maximum points after their 7-3 opening-day win against Glomminge of Sweden.
Despite the backing of a healthy number of Swedish fans, Glomminge fell short as Valicecar hit four goals in the last 12 minutes to move top.
Group B
Defending champions Viareggio were beaten in the first game of their Euro Winners Cup title defence as they fell 7-6 to Lokomotiv Moscow in extra time.
In what largely came down to a battle of the strikers – Gabriele Gori and Lukao – it was the Brazilian who had the final say. Gori’s treble goal looked to have settled things but recent FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup winner Lukao had the last say as he equalised to ensure extra time before hitting the winner two minutes from the end.
BS LSA Perwez gained a narrow victory in their opening game as they eventually overcame CS Djoker Chisinau. The scores were level after both the first and second periods before Victor Angeletti grabbed the winner for the Belgian side in the final frame.
Group C
S.S. Lazio eventually prevailed in their thriller against Dinamo Batumi, winning 5-3 in extra time.
In a contest that swung both ways over the course of the three periods, Adri Frutos took the contest into a fourth frame when he struck two minutes from time.
However, Pasquale Carotenuto and Bernardo were on target in the final stages to ensure Lazio got off the mark in Group C.
Arman lead Group C after the opening day of competition following their 7-4 win against Silesia BS St Neots of England. Burzawa hit a hat-trick for Silesia but it wasn’t enough as a Muralinov double, with further goals from Sergey Kyvatkovskiy, Dmitriy Perevyortov, Stanislav Makagon, Viktor Radionov and Vitaliy Tyulpa sealed the points.
Group D
Seferihisar Cittaslow produced an incredible comeback win as they recovered to beat MFC Spartak of Bulgaria 4-3. Kalyan Tsvetkov, Filip Filipov and Pavel Adamov sent Spartak into the final period with a 3-0 lead that seemed comfortable.
However, Spartak were level within three minutes of the third frame thanks to goals from Volkan Yesilirmak, Baris Terzioglu and Ihar Bryshtel.
Things remained finely poised before Bryshtel grabbed the winner two minutes from time to seal a remarkable win. It proved somewhat easier for BSC Griffin as they eased past ACS West Deva 7-0.
Yurii Shcherytsia and Maksym Voitok scored twice with Sergii Romanovski, Artem Illichov and Anton Butko also on target en route to top spot in the group. Group E Sporting CP saw off Spartak Moscow 3-2 on penalties after ending extra-time at 4-4, as the Portuguese side picked up their first point of the Euro Winners Cup.
Madjer and co sit second behind Betuws BS after the Portugal international, Antonio Hernandez and Rui Coimbra held their nerve from the spot. Spartak’s Ostap Federov was the only one to falter, sending his effort over the crossbar, with Betuws sitting top after day one.
The Dutch outfit relied heavily on the goals of Matthijs van Gessel, who scored twice only to see RTU of Latvia battle back to force extra time. But Van Gessel then sealed his treble a minute into extra time to send Betuws top of Group E. Group F SC Braga demonstrated their quality with an 11-4 win against Ibbenburener BSC on Monday.
Tipped by many to be among the frontrunners for the title, Braga were five goals to the good after the first period with Jose Maria, Bokinha, Mauricinho and Catarino all on target. Portugal quartet Be Martins, Leo Martins, Jordan Santos and Bruno Novo completed the victory, with Christian Biermann’s hat-trick mattering little for the Germans.
Preliminary Round qualifiers Bala Azul continued where they left off by beating Winti Panthers 7-0. Jose Henrique, Francisco Jose Cintas and Fernando Guisado grabbed one each to give the Spanish club a 3-0 lead going into the final period before they really cut loose and put Panthers to the sword.
Pedro Acosta and Sergio Paredes got on the scoresheet before Guisado and Cintas added their second each in the final stages.
Group G
Former champions BSC Kristall began their search for another title in style as they moved past Atlas AO 5-0 in their respective openers. Boasting an array of international talent, the 2015 winners were made to work early on before getting the breakthrough courtesy of Dejan Stankovic.
The Switzerland international also rounded off the scoring, with Kirill Romanov grabbing two in between alongside a goal for Belito. Lenildo Pereira’s brace helped Cadiz Sotelo deny CD Nacional Madeira as the Spanish side claimed a 4-3 win in their Group G opener.
Nacional led 2-0 thanks to goals from Joaquin Saura and Joao Jaemins but Cadiz produced an impressive fightback to claim the points, with Javier Torres Medina on target before Saura put into his own net late on.
Group H
Jaszfenyszaru GWP Cservy proved too strong for KP Lodz in their Euro Winners Cup opener on Monday in a comprehensive 7-2 success.
Seven different scorers were on target for the Hungarian side, with Ferenc Besenyei breaking the deadlock before Viktor Fekete, Marian Maciuca and Haitham Sabah notched in the second period.
Zoltan Menthe, Mark Ughy and Abbas Ali took the victors’ tally to seven before Boguslaw Saganowski and Karim Madani grabbed consultation goals for Lodz. CSKA were made to work harder for their three points against Bate Borisov, fighting back from a two-goal deficit to win 5-3.
A double from Vladislav Zharikov put Bate in control at the break but the second period belonged to the Russians as Rafinha registered twice along with Anderson.
Zharikov then scored at the wrong end, with Pavel Maslennikov adding a fifth for CSKA as they moved into second Group I FC Delta, fresh from qualification, began their Euro Winners Cup campaign by defeating Grembach Lodz of Poland 6-2 on Monday.
Frederico Cabral and Mitchell Day cancelled out Filipe’s two goals as the sides remained evenly matched during the first half of the contest. However, from there, Filipe went on to complete his hat-trick while Melo Rangler Igor Matheus grabbed a brace, with Andrei Pankratov also on target.
The other clash in the group saw Falfala Kfar Qassem eventually get the better of Grande Motte Pyramide BS in a close-fought 5-3 success. Stephane Belhomme, Frederic Marques and Anthony Barbotti thrice equalised for the French side but goals in the final two minutes from Amar Yatim and Dino ensured the points.
Euro Winners Cup Results/Fixtures
Monday, May 28th
09:00 – Falfala Kfar Qassem BSC 5-3 Grande Motte Pyramide BS
09:00 – FC Delta 6-2 BSC Grembach Lodz
10:15 – CSKA 5-3 BSC Bate Borisov
10:15 – KP Lodz 2-7 Jászfényszaru GWP Cservy
11:30 – Clube Desportivo Nacional 3-4 Cadiz CF Sotelo
11:30 – Atlas A.O. 0-5 BSC Kristall
12:45 – SC Braga 11-4 Ibbenbürener BSC
12:45 – CD Bala Azul 7-0 Winti Panthers
14:00 – Betuws BS 3-2 RTU AET
14:00 – BSC Spartak Moscow (2) 3-3 (3) Sporting CP
15:15 – MFC Spartak 3-4 Seferihisar Cittaslow
15:15 – ACS West Deva 0-7 BSC Griffin
16:30 – Arman 7-4 Silesia BS ST Neots
16:30 – Dinamo Batumi 3-5 S.S. Lazio (AET)
17:45 – BS LSA Perwez BS 4-3 CS Djoker Chisinau
17:45 – BSC Lokomotiv 7-6 Viareggio (AET)
19:00 – BS FC Valicecar 7-3 Glömminge IF
19:00 – Artur Music 2-1 ACD O Sotao
Tuesday, May 30th
08:00 – CD Bala Azul v Portsmouth Ladies
08:00 – Grembach Lodz v Grande Motte Pyramide BS
09:15 – Higicontrol Melilla v A.S.D. Terracina BS Femminile
09:15 – Falfala Kfar Qassem v FC Delta
09:15 – Jaszfenyszaru GWP Cservy v BSC Bate Borisov
10:30 – Vetlanda United v A.O. Kefallinia
10:30 – CSKA v KP Lodz
10:30 – BSC Kristall v Cadiz CF Sotelo
11:45 – KU AZS UAM Poznan v Viod Driezum
11:45 – Clube Desportivo Nacional v Atlas A.O.
11:45 – Winti Panthers v Ibbenbürener BSC
13:00 – CSO Amneville v BS HTC
13:00 – SC Braga v CD Bala Azul
13:00 – Sporting CP v RTU
14:15 – Betuws BS v BSC Spartak Moscow
14:15 – BSC Griffin v Seferihisar Cittaslow
15:30 – Astra HFC v WFC Neva 15:30 – MFC Spartak v ACS West Deva
15:30 – S.S Lazio BS v Silesia BS ST Neots
16:45 – Huelva – Madrid CFF v BSC Havana Shots Aargau
16:45 – Arman v Dinamo Batumi
16:45 – Viareggio BS v CS Djoker Chisinau
18:00 – Grande Motte Pyramide BS v Beachkick Ladies Berlin
18:00 – LSA Perwez BS v BSC Lokomotiv
18:00 – WFC Zvezda v AF Leiria
19:15 – FC Valicecar v Artur Music
19:15 – ACD O Sotao v Glomminge IF
