Futsal Champions League: two early defeats for Fiorentino, Morri marks his debut with a goal

In the opening match of the UEFA Futsal Champions League Preliminary Round, Fiorentino fall 3-1 to hosts Amigo Northwest. Gianni Galli’s men still find the satisfaction of a debut goal through Alessandro Morri – his very first game in Europe – who manages to beat the Bulgarian goalkeeper from close range. The new rossoblù coach’s starting five is Geri, Maiani, Verri, Zafferani and Morri. Fiorentino manage the game well and give little away; only shots from distance trouble their goalkeeper, formerly of Folgore. The home side play at a high tempo and after 2 minutes and 45 seconds Dobrichov unleashes a powerful right-footed strike from range to make it 1-0. A cold shower for Fiorentino, who react immediately: first with a well-taken free-kick by Verri, then with a huge chance for Morri, who fires wide from a few metres out after another set-piece. Missed chances are punished: from a free-kick, a deflected right-footed effort by the ever-dangerous Dobrichov makes it 2-0 to the Bulgarians. At the start of the second half Verri tries his luck from distance but the Bulgarian keeper saves comfortably. In the 28th minute, after a superb stop by Pavlov on Verri and another great save by Geri on Kuvlov, Fiorentino get their goal through Morri, who uses his body well to shield the ball after Maiani’s long pass and then finishes at the second attempt after his first shot is blocked by Pavlov. Galli’s men now believe, but only for a few minutes, because once again it is Dobrichov who has the final say with a thunderbolt from outside the area that leaves Geri rooted to the spot. The 3-1 scoreline could have been even heavier in the final stages, but first Pavlov denies Morri, then the crossbar comes to the Sammarinese side’s rescue on efforts by Shalamanov and Dobrichov – the latter unquestionably the man of the match. Less than 24 hours later Fiorentino are back on court to face Minerva, who cruise to a 14-0 victory. Compared to the previous day, the only change in Gianni Galli’s starting five is Righi coming in for Verri. Minerva take the lead very early through Halimi. The Swiss champions press high and at times play impeccable futsal, making the most of the unquestionable quality of their players. In the 6th minute Everton goes it alone and drills a low shot past Geri. Two minutes later Everton again makes it 3-0 with a piledriver from outside the area. Fiorentino cannot get out of their own half and Minerva strike twice more through Luis Fernando (5-0). In the 13th minute the referee awards a penalty to Minerva (foul by Geri on Kägi) and Vitor Hugo makes it six for the Swiss side. There is also first-half glory for Daniel Machado and for Leo Costamanha, who completes the half-time scoreline (9-0) with a brace. In the second half the Swiss champions slightly ease off the pace, but stilladd another five goals. Halimi scores from the penalty spot in the 30th minute; then, two minutes later, Kägi makes it 11-0. There is also glory for Gajser, who wraps things up with a hat-trick, including two perfectly converted 10-metre free-kicks. It finishes 14-0. As well as the defeat, there is another negative note for Gianni Galli: the sending off of Maiani (handball in the incident leading to the second penalty), who will miss the last group match, scheduled for Saturday (10:00 Italian time) against Pro Futsal Cymru.  

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UEFA Futsal Champions League, Preliminary Round | Fiorentino – Amigo Northwest 1-3 FIORENTINO Geri; Maiani, Morri, Verri, Zafferani Substitutes: Gasperoni, Solito, Paoloni, Righi, Rossini, Baizan, Serra Coach: Gianni Galli   AMIGO NORTHWEST Pavlov; Dobrichov, Baharov, Kefa, Minchev Substitutes: Emanuilov, Shalamanov, Borisov, Kuzmanov, Stepanov, Iliev, Stoykov, Kozov Coach: Delyan Koychev   Referee 1: Ali Jabrayilov (AZE) Referee 2: Srdjan Mihajlovic (SRB) Referee 3: Maximilian Alkofer (GER) Timekeeper: Ivan Ivanov (BUL) Booked: Maiani Scorers: 2'45'', 17'39'' and 29'39'' Dobrichov, 27'56'' Morri

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UEFA Futsal Champions League, Preliminary Round | Fiorentino – Minerva 0-14 FIORENTINO Geri; Maiani, Righi, Morri, Zafferani Substitutes: Gasperoni, Solito, Paoloni, Rossini, Baizan, Serra, Verri Coach: Gianni Galli   MINERVA Pablo Silva; Daniel Machado, Fabio Soares, Vitor Hugo, Halimi Substitutes: Kägi, Luis Fernando, Sandro Júnior, Gajser, Everton, Leo Costamanha Coach: Pedro Santos   Referee 1: Srdjan Mihajlovic (SRB) Referee 2: Vasilios Christodoulis (GRE) Referee 3: Ali Jabrayilov (AZE) Timekeeper: Ivan Ivanov (BUL) Booked: Geri, Zafferani Sent off: Maiani (straight red) Scorers: 1'28'' and 30'08'' (pen.) Halimi, 6'16'' and 8'01'' Everton, 9'58'' and 11'57'' Luis Fernando, 13'38'' (pen.) Vitor Hugo, 17'21'' Daniel Machado, 19'13'' and 19'50'' Leo Costamanha, 32'07'' Kägi, 34'39'', 36'00'' and 38'59'' Gajser  

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