STORE 
MY BEACH SOCCER 
The hosts put nine past Greece while Belarus prevailed against Switzerland.
Division A rivals Russia and Belarus were winners on the opening day of the Euro Beach Soccer League stage in Moscow while Moldova sit top of the second tier.
Hosts Russia stated their intentions in their capital Moscow on Friday as they hammered Greece 9-0.
Having only mustered third-place finishes in Belgrade and at the BSWW Mundialito in Cascais, Russia had a point to prove prior to the opening-day clash and wasted little time in moving top of the standings on home sand.
Braces from Boris Nikonorov, Aleksey Makarov and Artur Paporotnyi did much of the damage as Greece were overwhelmed.
Nikonorov needed just three minutes to break the deadlock and was on target again, along with Makarov, to put Russia well in control at the interval.
Captain Anton Shkarin was next on target shortly after the break and, while Greece threatened intermittently through the likes of Anastasios Flengas and Spyridon Evangelos Gkritzalis, Russia began to click into top gear.
Makarov grabbed a second as Russia continued to show their clinical side with Yury Krasheninnikov hammering in a drive from distance prior to Viktor Kryshanov’s first ahead of the final period.
There was still time for Paporotnyi to register twice late on and seal a convincing win ahead of Russia’s meeting with fellow opening-day winners Belarus on Saturday.
Belarus came out on top in an absorbing contest against Switzerland as Ihar Bryshtsel’s hat-trick helped ensure an 8-4 win.
In the second game of the day, Switzerland battled back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 only for Belarus, now under the guidance of coach Nicolas ‘Nico’ Alvarado, to respond again and ultimately claim the points with the help of Bryshstel’s treble.
Vadim Bokach got the ball rolling for Belarus before Valery Makarevich denied Noel Ott one-on-one to keep Nico’s men in front.
Ilia Savich’s bobbling free-kick then beat Marco Allenbach to double the advantage before the break. Angelo Schirinzi opted to play forward Noel Ott in goal at the start of the second frame and his ability with the ball at his feet almost carved out a goal for the Swiss immediately – Moritz Jaeggy receiving a ball from his team-mate before sending a strike just wide.
Nicola Werder eventually got Switzerland on the board midway through the second frame before Ott himself dragged his side level. With momentum firmly behind Schirinzi’s men, Sandro Spaccarotella’s low drive put Switzerland in front going into the final frame, although Belarus were by no means finished.
Captain Bryshtsel brought Belarus level before Bokach and Dzianis Samsonov put them into a very comfortable position going into the final eight minutes. Still the game continued to swing to and fro, Spacca reducing the arrears only for Bryshtsel to find the back of the net direct from the restart.
Ivan Kanstantsinau’s carefully placed volley then deceived Ott to make it 7-4 before Bryshtsel capped his fine display by rounding the stand-in Switzerland goalkeeper and finding the bottom corner.
Moldova picked up their first points of this year’s Euro Beach Soccer League with a 4-2 win against Kazakhstan.
In what was a closely contested Division B clash, a double from captain Andrei Negara helped see off a stubborn Kazakhstan side and earn Moldova the early advantage in the three-team group, with Turkey still to play.
In both side’s first Euro Beach Soccer League outing of the season, Moldova drew blood first as Alexandr Arefiev found the target inside the opening two minutes before Sergey Kvyatkovskiy sent a shot wide for Kazakhstan.
Deonis Ciopa doubled Moldova’s advantage as they continued to prove clinical going forward although goalkeeper Viktor Chornyy deservedly got Kazakhstan on the scoresheet with an accurate strike from distance.
Captain Andrei Negara restored the two-goal cushion with a close-range finish before the interval but things remained tight in the second frame as both defences tightened up.
Tyulpa eventually pulled Kazakhstan closer to parity with a sweetly struck free-kick, which made for a finely poised final period.
As Kazakhstan went in search of an equaliser, Kvyatkovskiy fizzed a shot wide and, despite enjoying much of the possession, Negara grabbed his second of the game with a free-kick two minutes from time to tie up the points.
Friday results
16:00 – Moldova 4-2 Kazakhstan
17:15 – Belarus v Switzerland
18:30 – Greece 0-9 Russia
Saturday fixtures
16:00 – Kazakhstan v Turkey
17:15 – Switzerland v Greece
18:30 – Russia v Belarus
Sunday fixtures
16:00 – Turkey v Moldova
17:15 – Belarus v Greece
18:30 – Russia v Switzerland
