After suffering two defeats in the first two matches in Group F of the UEFA Futsal Cup, Valletta bounced back with a win in their final game as they defeated Scottish side Wattcell Futsal Club 9-3 at the Ylivieska Ice Arena in Ylivieska, Finland on Saturday.
It was a collective win for the Citizens who had most of the possession and surged forward from the word go to install a four goal lead in the first sixteen minutes. The Scottish side tried to get back into the match but the Lilywhites were superior and maintained their 4-1 advantage before the interval. In the second half, Valletta continued to dominate and managed to score five more times to obtain their first victory of the tournament which enabled Clayton Felice’s troops to place third in the tournament.
Despite suffering back-to-back defeats against Sievi FS 7-3 and Tbilisi University State 6-0, Valletta, on their first European participation, had also some good performances during these matches.
In the first match on Wednesday, Valletta lost 7-3 to hosts Sievi. Jovica Milijic put the Citizens ahead but Rami Tirkkonen levelled matters and Miika Hosio made it 2-1. Xavier Saliba restored equilibrium but Sievi regained a two goal-lead thanks to a brace by Tirkkonen with Joni Pakola adding another before half-time. Juho Väinälä scored early in the second half and Tirkkonen added a seventh goal with Endrit Kaca reducing the gap for Valletta.
On Thursday, the Citizens held on well for seventeen minutes against Tbilisi State University of Georgia but captain David Bobokhidze finally managed to break the deadlock. The Georgians scored twice early in the second half through Archil Sebiskveradze and Shota Chanukvadze to go 3-0 ahead with Nodari Kurtsadze, Nikoloz Kurtanidze and David Bobokhidze adding another three goals to make it six-nil.
On Saturday, goals by Dylan Musu, Jovica Milijic, Christian Cardona and Denis di Maio gave Valletta a comfortable four-goal lead. Wattcell pulled one back through Ian Mcintosh but Vanderlei Augusto, Christian Cardona and Endrit Kaca extended the lead to 7-1. Christopher Donnelly reduced the gap but Valletta scored another two goals through Christian Cuadrados Silva. Donelly scored a third goal for the Scottish side late in the game.