02 Jun 2017

Lokomotiv march on as Braga down Sporting

Lokomotiv and Braga will be joined by FC Delta and Artur Music in the final four.

Delta stay on track for Euro Winners Cup final spot

FC Delta kept their 100 per cent record intact as they qualified for the Euro Winners Cup semi-finals with a 7-2 win against CD Bala Azul.

Amid a frantic pace in the opening stages, Chiky Ardil broke the deadlock with an acrobatic strike midway through the opening period only for Gil to level matters with a set-piece shortly before the break.

A Pedro own-goal turned the result around within a minute of the restart before Bryan hammered in a free-kick to extend the advantage.

The Brazilian was at it again soon after when he produced an expert overhead kick although Jose Enrique brought Bala back within one before the final frame.

A Filipe penalty made it 5-2 with six minutes to play with Mikhail Chyriaev finding the bottom corner to ease any nerves, despite a strike from Pedro, who made amends for his earlier error 17 seconds from time.

Zborovksyi on song as Artur Music progress

Last year’s finalists Artur Music came from behind to reach the semi-finals with a 3-1 win against Spartak Moscow.

Alexey Pavlenko wasted little time, opening the scoring less than a minute in, with Ivan Glutskyi’s set-piece that struck the post the closest Artur Music went to levelling before the break.

The 2016 finalists eventually levelled through Glutskyi in the second frame and Oleg Zborovskyi slotted home a penalty late in the second to put Artur Musc into the lead for the first time.

With just a goal separating the sides going into the last 12 minutes, the finale was played out at quite a pace but it was Zborovksyi’s second that helped take the game away from Spartak.

The Ukraine international produced another expert overhead kick to beat Aleksie Zuev and, despite late Spartak pressure, Artur Music edged a step closer to another Euro Winners Cup final.

CSKA recover to edge Griffin

CSKA bounced back from their defeat on penalties to CD Bala Azul as they saw off BSC Griffin 5-4 to keep alive their hopes of ninth place.

Anderson and Rafinha cancelled out two Oleksii Illichov goals in an entertaining opening period before Mikhail Semenov struck twice early and late in the second frame to give CSKA a solid advantage.

While two goals in 24 seconds from Viktor Bakumenko and Maksym Voitok dragged Griffin level, Sergei Stepliani hit the winner with just over four minutes remaining to settle a pulsating contest.

Ruthless Viareggio too much for Seferihisar Following their defeat to Artur Music on penalties, former champions Viareggio recovered to hammer Seferihisar Cittaslow 13-6 in the race for ninth place.

Ihar Bryshtel’s brace couldn’t stop Seferhisar going in behind at the break with Giacomo Valenti, Gabriele Gori and Oba Takaaki on target as Viareggio took a slender lead into the interval.

However, from there, the Italians clicked and saw Dario Ramacciotti register three times along with Gori and Oba.

Baris Terzioglu and Erhan found the net for Seferhisar but defensively, they struggled to cope with the Italians Ramacciotti ended the game with four, while Gori bagged five in a comprehensive victory.

Lokomotiv win all-Russian clash against Kristall

Russian champions BSC Kristall bowed out of the Euro Winners Cup at the quarter-final stage as they fell to Lokomotiv Moscow 3-2 on penalties.

Things began well for Kristall as Dejan Stankovic opened the scoring three minutes in, but the domestic champions trailed at the break as they were stunned by goals by Daniel, Boris Nikonorov and Lukao.

Nikonorov made life very difficult for Kristall when he got on the scoresheet early in the second but Rodrigo set them on the comeback trail when his acrobatic effort was adjudged to have crept over the line.

Stankovic and Paporotnyi then completed the comeback, with the scores remaining level at the end of normal and extra time.

While Lokomotiv’s scorers all held their nerve, Rodrigo’s saved penalty would prove costly as Kristall bowed out in difficult fashion.

Batumi edge past Lodz with Llorenc treble

A hat-trick from Llorenc Gomez helped Dinamo Batumi beat BSC Grembach Lodz 4-3 as the Georgian side stayed on course for fifth place.

Alessio Battini broke the deadlock before Spain international Llorenc opened his account for the day, with the forward on target again early in the second period.

The second period proved crucial in the context of the match as Frederico Cabral, Mitchell Day and Daniel Baran stunned Batumi with goals in quick succession to draw Lodz level.

However, Llorenc’s hat-trick goal late in the second frame proved to be the winner, with Batumi on course to finish with a flourish.

Cadiz get the better of Sotao on penalties

Local Nazare side ACD O Sotao suffered a narrow defeat on penalties as Alvaro Murracas and Takasuke Goto faltered from the spot in a 2-1 shootout defeat.

In an entertaining opening period, both sides matched one another goal for goal as Vidinha and Pombinha registered for Sotao while Javier Torres and Daniel Pajon notched for Cadiz.

Fabinho got the first of his three goals to restore Sotao's lead but Cristian Torres and Ezequiel Carrera maintained the game's entertainment factor as they bagged one each in the second frame.

Fabinho then looked to have won the game with a brace only for Javier Torres to level with 17 seconds remaining.

After Venildo and Vidinha got one apiece in extra-time, the contest came down to penalties, with Goto and Alvaro unable to convert theirs as Cadiz gained the win.

Braga overcome major Sporting hurdle

Braga won the clash of the Portuguese titans on Friday as they held off a late fightback from Sporting to reach the semi-finals.

Mauricinho got the ball rolling for Braga late in the first period before Bokinha got in on the act with a brace in the second frame as the result looked to be on doubt.

However, Heimanu Taiarui hammered in a sweet volley to reduce the deficit before Madjer's set-piece brought Sporting within one.

Ultimately, Sporting fell just short and will go into the mix for fifth place.

Men's Euro Winners Cup Results/Fixtures

Friday, June 2nd

11:30 - FC Delta 6-3 CD Bala Azul

14:00 - BSC Spartak Moscow 1-3 Artur Music

14:00 - BSC Griffin 4-5 CSKA

15:15 - Seferihisar Cittaslow 6-13 Viareggio BS

16:30 - BSC Grembach Lodz 3-4 Dinamo Batumi

16:30 - BSC Lokomotiv (3) 4-4 (2) BSC Kristall (PSO)

17:45 - Cadiz CF Sotelo (2) 6-6 (1) ACD O Sotao (PSO)

19:00 - Sporting CP 2-3 SC Braga

Saturday, June 3rd

09:00 - Viareggio BS v CSKA

10:15 - Dinamo Batumi v Cadiz CF Sotelo

11:30 - BSC Spartak Moscow v CD Bala Azul

14:00 - BSC Kristall v Sporting CP

16:30 - Seferhisar Cittaslow v BSC Griffin

16:30 - BSC Lokomotiv v SC Braga

17:45 - BSC Grembach Lodz v ACD O Sotao

19:00 - BSC Artur Music v FC Delta