After losing 7-2 to hosts MNK Alumnus Zagreb in the first game from Group F of the UEFA Futsal Cup Preliminary Round on Wednesday, Balzan bounced back with a 5-3 win over Danish champions København in the second game at the Sports Hall Dom Sportova in Zagreb on Thursday.
It was a great performance by Romanian internationals Tony Safar, Andrea Dan and Adrian Panzaru which paved the way for Balzan’s first win in the competition and guarantee the runner-up spot in the group.
Emil Răducu put Balzan ahead on the 4th minute and Tony Iuliu Safar doubled the score on the 6th. Player-Coach Gabriel Dobre made it 3-0 on the 13th. Five minutes in the second half, Iuliu Safar scored the fourth goal and Andrei Dan increased the lead further on the 30th. The Danish reduced the gap with a brace by Clement Clifford and a goal by Javier Sanz Caridad.
In the first game, Alumnus proved stronger than Balzan to take three deserved points.
Alumnus captain Matija Dulvat put them ahead after just one minute with Emil Răducu equalising three minutes later. Saša Ledinščak made it 2-1 for the hosts on the 10th and one minute later, Sadat Ziberi increased the lead. Kristijan Grbeša scored the fourth goal on the 15th. Matija Capar and Kristijan Grbeša added another two goals before Iuliu Safar reduced the gap for Balzan. However Matija Capar scored the seventh goal to seal the issue.
BALZAN vs ALUMNUS: Nicolas Farrugia, Gabriel Dobre, Andrei Dan, Emil Răducu, Iuliu Safar.
Giancarlo Sammut, Boycho Marev, Mark Zammit, Adrian Panzaru, Carlos Scicluna, Matthew Xerxen, Željko Aničic, Nicola Del Re, Glenn Bonello.BALZAN vs KOBENHAVN: Matthew Xerxen, Gabriel Dobre, Adrian Panzaru, Emil Răducu, Iuliu Safar.
Nicolas Farrugia, Giancarlo Sammut, Boycho Marev, Mark Zammit, Andrei Dan, Carlos Scicluna, Željko Aničic, Nicola Del Re, Glenn Bonello.Coach: Gabriel Dobre