Helvecia 3-1 Corinthians
The FA UMBRO Futsal Cup
The English Institute Of Sport, Sheffield.
Helvecia Futsal secured their place in The FA Futsal Cup Final, with a well deserved victory over Corinthians in Sheffield.
The London-based team, made up of largely Brazilian players and backed by a noisy following of supporters complete with drums and whistles, always looked in full control of their Semi-Final.
They took an early lead in the game when Celson Ferreida Almeida was left in too much space inside the area and he took full advantage to slot home and draw first blood.
It could have been 2-0 soon after when Corinthians goalkeeper Curtis Holmes made one of several impressive saves to deny Douglas Pavanello, who posed a severe threat with his angled left foot drives.
Whilst Helvecia couldn’t find more goals in the first half, they always looked the more likely to add to their account as they clocked up numerous shots at goal.
However, they were caught cold just 20 seconds after the re-start when Bebeto Flausinio found some space on the right and rifled a fantastic shot into the far corner for his ninth of the competition to send their own pocket of supporters wild and draw the teams level.
It could have gone either way at this stage, but when Helvecia called a time-out, they took full advantage and whatever the coach told them worked as Pavanello struck home an angled shot as he’d been threatening all game.
Another tactical change by Helvecia saw them replace their goalkeeper with an outfield player who pushed the rest of the team upfield and helped them retain possession for longer spells.
Corinthians then employed the same tactic, but not to quite the same effect as a mix-up between defender and new goalkeeper Bruno Lisboa allowed Thiago Roberto Diorio to score a simple goal and secure their place in The Final.
There they will face last year’s champions Ipswich Wolves, who progressed to The Final courtesy of a 3-2 win against Tranmere Victoria.
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