Futsal: 2-2 in second clash in Northern Ireland, San Marino pegged back 6" from time

The tempo was slightly lower in the second friendly in Northern Ireland involving the San Marino national futsal team, played less than 24 hours after the first encounter. The match was nonetheless evenly balanced, between two sides fine-tuning their preparations for the upcoming European Qualifiers. It was the ever-dangerous Millar who broke the deadlock in a first half with few real chances to note – he scored with a powerful free-kick that went through the wall and crashed in under the bar. Nothing Protti could do. The Titano side reacted immediately, restoring parity in exactly the same way they had scored their second goal yesterday: Busignani fired in a waist-high ball from the flank and Maiani, showing plenty of courage and just as much determination, beat the goalkeeper with an unstoppable header. After the restart the pattern did not change, and the goalscoring opportunities could be counted on the fingers of one hand. The Biancazzurri failed to capitalise on a couple of them, then were bailed out by an extraordinary reflex save from Protti – monumental as he reacted to a deflected effort from close range, palming the ball away from goal. The most dramatic moments came at the end, with Northern Ireland having to deal with the sword of Damocles hanging over them in the form of five accumulated fouls. The hosts adopted a flying goalkeeper, mainly to keep possession and avoid committing another infringement. That plan did not translate into practice, though, as a sixth foul in the second half allowed Busignani to step up to the second penalty spot for a 10-metre free-kick and turn the game around. Play resumed with 73" left on the clock. San Marino held firm against the late pressure, which continued to revolve around the flair of Connor Millar, now wearing the flying goalkeeper’s shirt. And it was the talented Northern Irishman – yesterday’s match-winner with a hat-trick – who spared his side a home defeat with a powerful left-footed strike at the near post that caught Protti out. A real sting in the tail for the Titani, who saw victory slip away 6" from the buzzer after completing a gruelling comeback. Even so, there was no shortage of positive signs for Roberto Osimani ahead of the trip to Austria in around a fortnight, where the Biancazzurri will be in action in the opening stage of the Futsal EURO Qualifiers.

---

Official friendly | Northern Ireland – San Marino 2-2 NORTHERN IRELAND McErlain, Kernohan, Millar Roohi, Starrs Substitutes: Irvine, Gibson, Dobney, Barr, Stapleton, McMenemy, Donnelly, Lowry, Sobecki Assistant coach: Garth Smith   SAN MARINO Protti, Maiani, Busignani, Zafferani, Ercolani Substitutes: Pazzini, Geri, Cavalli, Cecchini, Ceccoli, Toccaceli, Mattioli Head coach: Roberto Osimani   Referee 1: Bart Urbanski Referee 2: Sebastian Jankowlski Referee 3: Ayad Abu-Khiran Timekeeper: Abbie Magee Scorers: 14'21", 39'54" Millar, 16'08" Maiani, 38'13" 10 m. Busignani Booked: Busignani, Gibson, McMenemy

---